





1;^ 







LIRRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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Sh,elf.H.S.il.^ 



UNITED STATES OP AMEKICA. 






\ 

REVIVAL KINDONG; 



BY 



/ 



REV. MARTIN WELLS KNAPP, 

EDITOR OF " THE REVIVALIST," AND AUTHOR OF " CHRIST CROWNED WITHIN," " OUT 
OF EGYPT INTO CANAAN," AND " REVIVAL TORNADOES." 



I am lottw to genu fire on i\\t earth ; anU iuijat iutll K, il it be alreaUg 
kittUleU ? '^— jEsiTs. 



! , 



BOSTON, MASS.: 

Mcdonald, gill & co., 

36 Bromfield Street. 



THE REVIVALIST PUBLISHING CO., 
ALBION, MICH. 







COPYRIGHTED 
BY MARTIN WELLS KNAPP. 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 028856 



lUebication. 



THE TRIUNE GOD, 

Whose Love is "A Genial Fire"; 
- — Whose Glory is "A Devouring Fire"; 

Who is to His People "A Refiner's Fire"; 

Who is to the Persistently Impenitent 

"A Consuming Fire" ; and 

Who is Seeking to Kindle on Earth 

"Revival Fire"; 

AND UNTO HIS CHURCH, 

Which He has Promised to " Baptize with Fire from Above, 
THIS Volume is Humbly 

Dedicated by its Author. 



PREFACE. 



He who has promised that "as thy days so thy 
strength shall be," has permitted the writer, who for 
some time has been unable to do heavier work, to pre- 
pare this book of ** revival kindlings." / 

Its object is to help meet the need mentioned by 
Rev. B. E. Paddock, an evangelistic pastor, who writes 
as follows : — 

** Such a volume, filled with facts unvarnished, clothed 
in appropriate language, so that the strong points are 
brought out, will be of inestimable value. I have 
greatly felt the need of such a work all through the 
years of my ministry. Have felt it more of late than 
ever before. After doing my best to forcibly present a 
Bible truth and make a point, I want an incident to 
clinch it. Such a work, well written, well arranged, and 
full, would be instrumental, when combined with other 
agencies, in bringing thousands to Christ." 

The writer confidently believes that this volume will 
help to meet this need. He has used much of the 
matter in his own work, and thus tested its kindling 
power. The book is designed to be an arsenal, from 



PREFACE. V 

which the Christian soldier can draw needed illustrative 
supplies ; a well, from which the patient toiler in the 
Master's vineyard can drink and be refreshed ; and a 
guide, pointing away from superficial and spurious re- 
vivals to those which are true. It is also hoped that 
its " kindlings " may so ignite that it will prove a fire 
by whose heat unconverted readers may be melted and 
shivering professors so warmed that, with hearts burn- 
ing within them, they will sing no more of ** These cold 
hearts of ours." 

Its multiplicity of pointed salvation incidents is 
designed to make it a book of great value for workers 
to read themselves and scatter among those whose 
salvation they seek, as well as a book from which to 
draw material for public use. It is also well calculated 
to supplement the other books which the writer has 
issued. 

In "Christ Crowned Within," gospel truth is pre- 
sented from an experimental standpoint ; in " Out of 
Egypt into Canaan," from an illustrative ; in " Revival 
Tornadoes," from a biographical ; and in " Revival 
Kindlings," chiefly from an anecdotal. 

God has condescended to use each of our other 
books in leading precious souls to Christ, and in the 
cleansing of His children and in their enduement with 
" power from on high." If a like or greater blessing 
attends this one, all the glory shall be His. Much of 
the matter in it has appeared from time to time in The 



vi prePacM. 

Revivalist^ and has been thought worthy to be arranged 
and put in this more permanent form. Some has been 
selected from other books, but much of it appears in 
book form for the first time. All the articles not 
otherwise indicated are by the author of the book. 
We sincerely thank all who have aided us in gathering 
material for these pages ; and also earnestly desire the 
prayers of all who read them, that the book may be 
used of God to accomplish the end for which it is 
written, and thus help to hasten the day — 

" When not one rebel heart remains 
But over all the Saviour reigns." 

May He who only is able to make " weak things " 
"confound the mighty," and the "things that are not " 
" bring to naught the things that are,*' breathe, by His 
Spirit, upon these "kindlings," and fan them into a 
flame for His glory. 

M. W. KNAPP. 

Albion^ Mich, 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

I. Kindlings 9 

II. Revival Fire^ 16 

III. Revivals 23 

IV. Revival Preparation 40 

V. Revival Prayer 63 

VI. Revival Workers 82 

VII. Revival Methods no 

VIII. Revival Results 134 

IX. "Jonahs" 144 

X. Infidelity 162 

XI. Death Scenes of the Saved 190 

XII. Death Scenes of the Unsaved 216 

XIII. Peril of Procrastinating 237 

XIV. Getting Saved 251 

XV. Getting Saved. Continued 278 

XVI. Receiving the Holy Ghost 309 



REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 



SECTION I. 



KINDLINGS. 



" Revive us again, fill each heart with Thy love ; 
May each soul be enkindled with fire from above ! " 

" Kindlings," according to Webster, " are the mate- 
rial used for causing flame or kindling a fire." 

That they may fittingly be mentioned as illustra- 
tive of facts and incidents such as are embodied in 
this book will be seen by a glance at a few of the points 
of resemblance. 

The human heart is the furnace ; spiritual truth 
the fuel ; prayer the match ; the Holy Spirit the fire 
from it ; illustrative facts, anecdotes, and incidents, the 
kindlings ; the Christian worker the fire builder. Jesus, 
with the Father, is the proprietor and director. 

The souls of men in their sinful state are in a sad 
condition. They were designed to be temples infi- 
nitely grander than Solomon's, in which God Himself 
should dwell. Men by sin let Satan in, who put out the 
fire, extinguished the light, and made it the abode of those 
who, like himself, prefer darkness and spiritual desolation. 

A divine law demands that all such despoiled struc- 
tures shall be destroyed at once ; but Love pleaded that 
man might be an exception to that statute, and an 

[9] 



10 ttEVIVAL KINDIINQS. 

opportunity given where he might through the divine 
favor, be restored to even more than his former state. 

The Son of God has made this possible, provided 
agencies to do it ; and Himself gives them all, when used 
as He directs, divine energy. He has declared that " He 
came to kindle a fire on earth," and asks, ** What will I 
if it be already kindled ? " His "word is like a fire," 
and His mission is to kindle a flame of holy love that 
shall belt this globe, burn up the dross of sin, and fit 
every soul temple for His own indwelling. 

To do this work He has not chosen many agencies 
that are ** great and mighty " in the sight of men, but 
those which are "weak" and often "foolish" in man's 
perverted sight. In many instances a simple word or 
tear or metaphor or illustrative incident has done more 
to kindle a fire in a cold heart than a whole ton of the 
cold coal of logical argument would have done. These 
prove spiritual kindlings the counterpart of those in the 
material world. Notice the correspondences, and learn 
thereby to wisely use such "kindlings." 

Material kindlings are a great help in building a 
fire. 

Fuel will not burn readily by the striking of a match, 
without kindlings of some kind. The furnace may be 
full of fuel, but will be fireless unless kindlings are 
procured. 

Every enlightened mind contains truth enough to 
save it. Every cold church holds truth enough to make 
it glow with holy fire if only that truth were ablaze. 

The great mission of revivals is to set this truth 
on fire. To aid in doing this, illustrative "kind- 
lings " are of great value. 



KINDLINGS. 11 

Jesus gathered such both from the history of the past 
and the events of the present, and then used them with 
a wisdom which should command both the admiration 
and the example of all who preach and teach His gospel. 

Kindlings^ though needful^ cannot be substituted for 
the more substantial ftiel. 

A fire made of kindlings only will both flash up and go 
out quickly. No more can ** revival kindlings" be sub- 
stituted instead of the great body of Bible truth, which 
it is their mission simply to illustrate and enforce. 

Kindlings have to be prepared and possessed before 
they can be used. 

There might be an abundance of material for kin- 
dlings at hand, and yet all of it be valueless for kindling 
purposes, because not prepared or possessed. So with 
spiritual kindlings for use in revival work. The world 
is full of material for them, but much of it is not 
in shape for use ; and often even that which is prepared 
is not in possession of the gospel worker, and hence 
to him is valueless. 

Kindlings not only should be prepared and possessed^ 
but also of easy access. 

Many an itinerant, taking his " Brush College " course, 
has felt the discomfort caused by waiting while his host, 
whose hospitalities he shares after the evening revival 
service is over, is hunting up kindlings and preparing 
them for building a fire. How much needless shivering 
would have been saved if only the kindlings had been 
prepared beforehand ! 

Such an host is a picture of the preacher who *' beats 
the air " or " shouts at the stars " in his sermons 
and personal instructions because he has neglected to 



12 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

prepare and have easy of access a supply of fitting 
illustrations. 

How often congregations have shivered spiritually 
under sermons that have "gone out" just because the 
minister had neglected to secure needed '* kindlings," 
or was too " dignified " to condescend to use them ! 

Kindlings must be placed in the furnace and brought in 
contact with the fuel. 

In a similar way, '' revival kindlings " of fitting 
illustrative truth must be brought in contact with the 
minds of those whom it is hoped to enkindle. 

The furnace must be properly prepared. 

The ashes should be removed, the pipes and chim- 
ney cleaned, and the dampers opened. 

Some people are like an old furnace with rusted 
damper shut, pipes and chimney completely filled with 
soot. Pride, prejudice, unbelief, an unforgiving spirit, 
worldliness, and kindred evils, are the soot which hin- 
ders, and if not removed will smother revival fires. 
On this account the first two weeks of a revival fre- 
quently must be spent in cleaning spiritual pipes and 
chimneys. On such occasion the leader of the revival 
must be a spiritual "chimney-sweep" or see every 
effort to build revival fire fail. 

Blind professors sometimes insist that the minister 
shall light his "kindlings" and make the revival fire 
burn, with the church in the deplorable condition 
mentioned, without urging its overhauling and clean- 
ing. 

If wise he will inflexibly resist such insistence ; other- 
wise his time and labor will be in vain, his revival 
end in smoke, and the blind men mentioned will say, " — 
is not much of a revivalist," and perhaps it will be true. 



KINDLINGS. 13 

Kindlings to accomplish their mission must be lighted. 

The furnace, pipes, chimney, fuel, and kindlings — all 
may be properly prepared and ready for a rousing fire ; 
yet if not lighted, frowning Frost, instead of genial 
Warmth, will reign. 

All now hinges on striking and applying the match. 
What the match's fire is to the kindlings, the Holy Spir- 
it is to revival facts and incidents. They can be lighted 
from no other source. Mental, moral, or mere rhetorical 
fire cannot ignite them. They are to help kindle flames 
which will glow forever, and their source must be divine. 
Hence a revival or a church that ignores the agency 
of the Holy Ghost can at the best be but a spiritual ice- 
house. It may have many in it, but they will be in a 
freezing condition. They may listen to artistic music 
and archangel eloquence which may amuse for a moment. 
They may dance, play progressive euchre, engage in 
churchly frolics, festivals, theatricals, and kindred " en- 
tertainments " to try and thus "amuse themselves" 
and forget the spiritual chills which blight their bright- 
est hopes ; yet sooner or later, unless fire from above 
shall fall amid the resistless blasts of a merciless spirit- 
ual winter, they will have perished, and over them 
the unseen angel will be compelled to write this sad 
and truthful epitaph : " Frozen to Death." 

The right use of kindlings requires wisdom. 

It requires wisdom that will insist on the overhaul- 
ing of soot-filled pipes, the sweeping of chimneys, 
open dampers, and which, when all is ready, shall apply 
the match. 

Success with spiritual kindlings needs the higher 
wisdom from above, — wisdom that will use them dis- 



14 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

criminately ; wisdom that knows how, Elijah-like, when 
all is ready, at just the right time, to strike the match of 
prevailing prayer, which will bring the fire of the Holy 
Spirit from above to set ablaze the kindlings which 
have been prepared. 

A little girl tried to buiM her first fire by laying 
a match on the top of a stick of wood. It of course 
went out and she was disappointed. Workers who dis- 
pense with spiritual kindlings altogether, or who use them 
at hap-hazard, at wrong times and places and to wrong 
persons, are as unwise as was this little girl, and must 
meet a similar mortification. 

The Christian worker who cannot strike this match 
is as out of place as a revival leader as a baby would 
be to lead in a battle. Such should seek at once some 
Pentecostal "upper chamber" and ** tarry there " until 
this secret wisdom, which the Father delights to give even 
to spiritual babes, is possessed. Then, and not till then, 
other conditions being met, shall come the qualification 
to lead on to revival victory. 



FIRE IN THE WORD. 



"And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like 
devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of 
the children of Israel" (Exod. 24: 17). 

** And the light of Israel shall be for a firey and his 
Holy One for 2^ flame : and it shall burn and devour his 
thorns and his briers in one day" (Isa. 10: 17). 

" Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burn- 
ing with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy : his 
lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devour- 
mgfire'' (Isa. 30: 27). 

*' I will make my words in thy vdovx^xfire (Jer. 5 : 14). 

" Is not my word like as 2ifire " (Jer. 23 : 29) } 

"He is like a refiner'syfr^" (Mai, 3 : 2). 

" He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with 
fire'' (Matt. 3: 11). 

" I am come to send j^r^ on the earth ; and what will I, 
if it be already kindled " (Luke 12 : 49) } 

"Who maketh his ... . ministers a flame of fire'' 
(Heb. 1 : 7). 

" And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as 
oifire^ and it sat upon each of them " (Acts 2:3). 

CJ53 



SECTION 11. 



REVIVAL FIRE. 



Fire, as well as " kindlings, " has its counterpart in the 
spiritual world. 

Revival fire is gospel truth ablaze with the power and 
presence of the Holy Ghost. It glows in the hearts of 
all who welcome it. 

A freezing family in a fireless dwelling, with the 
mercury forty degrees below zero, is a no more pitiable 
spectacle than a soul or a church which is destitute of 
revival fire. 

Notice the following instructive likenesses between it 
and the fire of the material world : — 

A fire will not burn withoiU fuel. 

No more can fire divine be kindled in a heart that is 
destitute of the fuel of God's truth. 

The truth must first be placed within before the fire 
can be built there. This work may be done in the home, 
in the Sunday school, from the pulpit, by personal instruc- 
tion, and by the printed page. 

A few sticks or coals are enough to begin the fire with, 
but they must be there. Many of the heathen are entire- 
ly destitute of these, and the truth has to be translated 
into their language before it can be set on fire. 

To simply pray for the conversion of those who have 
no knowledge of the gospel, without doing anything to 



REVIVAL FIRE. 17 

put them in possession of proper instruction, is as foolish 
as to try and build a fire in a fuelless stove. 

A fire will not burn unless it is kindled. 

No more will revival fires burn unless man does his 
part to build them. Whenever there has been a Saul 
suddenly blazing up with revival fire, there has also 
been some Stephen who has helped to kindle the flame. 
Revivals do not come independent of human effort. They 
must come from above, and are of divine origin, but their 
coming is conditioned on human action. 

A man would be thought crazy if he should pray for 
God to keep his family from freezing, and then refuse to 
light afire, on the plea that God Himself would do it "in 
His own good time." Yet he would act just as wisely as 
one who prays for a revival in his own heart or commu- 
nity, and then does nothing to promote it. 

A fire^ when kindled, exerts a twofold action. 

Fire in one instance will warm, and in another, burn : 
in one, comfort ; and another, pain, — the effect depending 
upon the attitude of the subject toward it. So with fire 
from above. Falling upon Ananias, persistent in perfidy, 
it burns him to death : but in the heart furnace of an 
Isaiah, a Peter, or a Paul, it glows a perpetual glory. It 
troubles the sinner but comforts the saint. Spiritual 
fire rejected is hell ; received, it is heaven. 

Fire is destructive. 

Spiritual fire is a foe to sin, and seeks to destroy it : 
hence the ingenious and persistent efforts of Satan and 
his servants to put it out ; hence the wisdom from 
above, which is needed to bring their efforts to naught. 

Fire is aggressive. 

It swiftly spreads. So does fire frorn above. Within 



18 REVIVAL KINDLINGS, 

fifty years from the first Pentecostal conflagration it 
nearly belted the globe. Within the last century it has 
spread with a rapidity that has made the 'Agates of hell" 
to shake ; and within the next twenty-five years it will 
burn in every corner of this globe, making it glow with a 
beauty borrowed from celestial realms. 

Fire shines. 

So does its spiritual namesake ; and shining, it makes 
wonderful revelations of divine truth. It reveals views 
of God and sin and self, that startle by their awfulness. 
The prayer, "Lord, let the fire fall!" should be pre- 
faced with, ** Lord, help me to bear the revelations that 
it will bring." 

It melts. 

Hard metal under its influence becomes soft and pli- 
able. Under the influence of fire from on high the 
will bends, the heart melts, the feelings flow, and, as a 
dear minister expressed it, "all stiffness disappears." 

Fire is a great purifier. 

In the furnace it separates the base from the pre- 
cious metal, and prepares the pure gold for the impress 
of the governmental seal. Likewise, in God's alembic, 
this fire divine separates from our natures the dross 
of sin, and fits the purified soul for the impress of the 
government divine, so that by complete submission to 
His will it is moulded to "awake in His likeness." 

// conde7ises. 

This thought is not poetical, but wonderfully practical 
and true. As the juices of the cane and of the maple 
must be submitted to the fire's purifying, condensing 
power before they are of value, so must the soul to 
fire from above. Pride, envy, self-will, and kindred 



REVIVAL FIRE. 19 

gaseous vapors must be expelled, and the condensing 
process continued until one shall feel, " I am nothing, 
but Christ is all in all." "I feel awfully small," said 
a brother who had just passed through this process. 
It was the smallness that precedes greatness. When 
we are little in our sight, we become great in God's 
sight. There is danger in being too big. It was the 
death of Goliath, and came near being the defeat of 
Gideon's army. Fire condenses. When it gets burn- 
ing among a people, how amazingly the old prayers and 
exhortations and experiences contract! 

// a/so expands. 

It condenses sap, but expands metal. So with fire 
from above : it condenses the redundant and expands 
the precious. Beneath its heat^ peace, joy, benevolence, 
and all the precious metals of spiritual mineralogy 
are wonderfully expanded. Under its influence one 
man witnessed, ** I don't dare stay to another meeting, 
for I am as full now as I can stand." It was the 
expansive power of fire divine that "filled" him. 

Fire inspires growth. 

Warmth and light are its children, and under their 
genial influence there is the seed, the plant, the flow- 
er, and the fruitage. Without it, everything freezes to 
death. So in the spiritual world. With it, all the 
seeds implanted by the Spirit in the soul germinate, 
and develop into flowers and trees which glorify their 
Maker here, and then are fitted for transplanting to 
brighter realms above. Without it, all are soon nipped 
by frosts of worldliness and frozen to death in the 
ice of formality, or are destroyed by the terrific blizzards 
that continually rage in the perpetual winter of sin. 



20 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

To look for spiritual growth without fire from above 
is just as absurd as to expect to raise oranges in the 
Arctic Zone. 

Fire is the main-spring of the tornado s might. 

Its heat creates the mighty aerial currents which 
have formed ** cyclones" that have swept over earth 
with tremendous momentum. So of spiritual fire are 
born " revival tornadoes " such as have shaken earth 
and made the very gates of hell tremble. Behold their 
history in the days of the early Church, of Luther, of 
Wesley, and at the present time ! They are God's 
purifiers of the moral atmosphere, sent to banish the soul- 
destroying malaria that arises from the swamp of sin 
on earth and the pit of hell below. May they multi- 
ply until the sweet and holy atmosphere of heaven 
pervades this entire planet. 

Fire is aii explosive of dynamite. 

Under every form of evil the messengers of the 
Almighty are placing the dynamite bomb-shells of 
eternal truth. As they pray, the Spirit descends, the 
fire flashes from above, and there are and shall be 
explosions, shaking the very dungeons of doom, and 
making demons turn pale with hopeless rage. 

Fire is the centre of the eatthquakcs power. 

It speaks the word, and from its presence legions 
of pent-up gasses rush against earth's crust with a 
fury that makes mountains reel and cities totter to the 
dust. 

Revival fire creates spiritual earthquakes of similar 
might, — earthquakes which shall continue to convulse 
and startle the moral and the spiritual world until Greed 
and Lust and War and False Ambition, with all their 



SEVIVAL FIRE. 21 

kindred, have been destroyed, and the temples they have 
reared and the shrines where they have worshipped be 
deserted or thrown down. 

Fire is the source of the refreshing shower. 

The heat which it sheds forth so affects the atmosphere 
as to create the shining dew, the rnorning mist, and the 
refreshing shower. In a similar way the same spiritual 
heat, of which is born the cyclone and the earthquake, 
also creates the dew of silent, sweet devotion, the 
morning clouds of praise which ascend from hearts, and 
also the *' showers of blessings " which daily water all the 
trees and flowers of " righteousness " which flourish 
in the garden of the Lord. 

The results of fire are wonderfully diverse. 

It is the final source of both the lightning's gleam and 
of the rainbow's tint. In a like manner, fire from above 
may be the origin of judgments sudden and awful, that 
appall by their vividness ; and also of graces sweet and 
winning, that entrance with more than earthly loveliness. 

Fire is a source of motion. 

It generates steam, without which many of our most 
important machines would be useless. 

It is said that the first time that a northern pitman 
ever saw a locomotive, he said, — " How is it to go } 
There are no horses, and it is tons of weight. It will 
never move." 

Soon it was going at full speed, when the same man, 
filled with wonder, declared, " It will never stop." 

Seeing another train, he decided to discover the secret 
of its motion. He finally found it out, and said to his 
companion, — '* Why, Jim, it's the fire that's inside 
her!" 



22 REVIVAL KINDLINGS, 

A perfect engine upon a perfect track, well manned, 
and supplied with coal and water and all else needful, 
would still be perfectly powerless for the end designed, 
without fire. Sermons are sometimes just like such an 
engine. So are songs and prayers and testimonies and 
exhortations. The parties producing them would laugh 
at an engineer that would get down and push on his 
engine to make it go, instead of " firing up." Yet they are 
doing a similar thing. Some are preachers, some super- 
intendents, some class-leaders, some stewards, some 
trustees, some parents, and each has a splendid engine 
well equipped, and a train loaded with a precious freight 
of immortal souls which he wishes to get safe to heaven. 
There is fretting and worrying, and blaming and de- 
sponding, and pushing the train, but it doesn't move. 
Get on board, let the fire fall, and like a thing of life 
you and your precious freight will ascend the up-grade 
to the skies. 

// warms our homes. 

So with fire from high : it melts the hearts of par- 
ents and children, and they flow together. All ** cold- 
ness " towards each other disappears when it is received 
by each. A home without it is like a dwelling beauti- 
ful and nicely furnished, yet fireless. Who would live 
in such a house t Yet it were not half so foolish to do 
that as to have a home without fire from above. No 
wonder that multitudes have said, *' I'll have it or die." 
No wonder that to all such the kingly Christ replies, 
"Ask, and ye shall receive." 

*• Oh that it now from heaven might fall, 
And all our sins consume 1 
Come, Holy Ghost, for Thee we call! 
Spirit of burning, come 1 " 



SECTION III. 

REVIVALS. 

4 Revival 

Is like a thunder cloud, in that lightning leaps from it 
and sometimes hits to kill. 

Like the sunshine, in that it sheds light and ban- 
ishes darkness. 

Like a hammer, in that it breaks chains and frees 
their victims. 

Like the weather, in that it is outrageously grum- 
bled about and cannot please all. 

Like the moon ; no matter how much the dogs of 
opposition bark at it, it moves right on. 

Like a war, in that there are always two sides, and 
the lines are closely drawn. 

Like the earth, in that it is created and upheld by an 
unseen power. 

Like the Day of Judgment, in that both judgments 
and rewards attend it. 

Like a charge in a battle, in that the true and the 
brave press to the front, while the untrue and the 
cowardly fly to the rear. 

Like a forest fire, in that when it gets under head- 
way it spreads rapidly and destroys all dead material. 

Like all other great blessings, in that all glory for the 
good it brings should be given to God alone. 

t233 



24 REVIVAL KIND LIN GS» 

A Revival Spirii 

In a church makes it like a magnet, in that it draws* 
people to itself. 

Like an oasis in the desert, in that it affords to the 
perishing, spiritual shade, food, and drink. 

Like a strong ship, in that it is able to triutnph over 
both wind and waves. 

Like an impregnable fortress, which defends its 
inmates and is a terror to their enemies. 

Vivifying, enlightening, and purifying, it is like the sun 
when it goeth forth in its might ; and like heaven, in that 
its subjects are both useful and happy, and God Himself 
dwells with them. 

A Church 

Which is destitute of a revival spirit is like a storm- 
cloud in the time of a drought, which brings no rain. 

Like a lamp with a wet wick, which sputters for a 
moment and then goes out. 

Like a stove with soot-filled pipes and wet wood, that 
gives no heat. 

Like an empty table to a man who is starving. 

Like a dried up fountain to a man that is dying of 
thirst. 

Like a lighthouse whose light is put out. 

Like a home where there is no love. 

Like a Polar winter. 

Like a ghastly corpse. 

He who commanded "Come forth" to Lazarus, is able 
to resurrect even such a church as this. 

Absolute Necessity of Revivals. 
*' I could prove to a demonstration that without revi- 
vals the world will never be converted, and that in a 



REVIVALS. 25 

hundred or two hundred years, without revivals, Chris- 
tianity will be practically extinct. It is a matter of 
astounding arithmetic. In each of our modern generations 
there are at least thirty-two million children. Now add 
thirty-two millions to. the world's population, and then 
have only one or two hundred thousand converted every 
year, and how long before the world will be saved } 
Never — absolutely never ! " — Talmage. 

Moiives for Revival Effort 

1. God commands it. 

2. He always abundantly blesses all who rightly 
engage in it. 

3. The great majority of converted people were 
saved through revival efforts. 

4. Sinners by the million are sinking down to an eter- 
nal hell. 

5. Sin is an insult to God. 

6. Revivals make joy in heaven. 

7. Formalists, hypocrites, saloonists, and the devil, 
all hate them. 

8. Spiritual people in all denominations bid them 
God speed. 

9. To refuse to aid in them is to become cold, dead, 
and perhaps lost forever. 

10. To work in them is to win soul gems that will be 
of infinite value when banks have all broken, and all but 
God's saints have gone into eternal bankruptcy. 

*' Long and loud the Master calleth, 
Rich reward He offers thee. 
Who will answer, gladly saying, 
* Here am I ; send me, send me. ' ** 



26 hevival kindlings. 

There must be a Revival. 

It is possible for a person to live and be happy with- 
out a home, and in poverty and hunger ; but if destitute 
of a revival spirit he is a spiritual invalid, weak, sick, 
and miserable, if not already dead. 

It is possible for a church to thrive without a building, 
without a choir, without a preacher, but without a revi- 
val it is like a house in the winter without any fire. 

Towering mountain high, above all other needs, 
educational, political, or financial, is the need of a revival 
to all who are destitute of its power. Let the voice of 
each church and individual unite with the voice of the 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the cry for a sin-con- 
suming, heart-cleansing, soul-filling revival of religion. 

Revival Catechism. 

What is a revival of religion ? 

It is such a cleansing and quickening of believers as 
leads to the conversion of sinners. 

Why do some church members oppose revivals.? 

For various reasons. Some because they are uncon- 
verted, others because they have been prejudiced against 
true revivals by their knowledge of spurious ones, 
and others still because they are holding on to some sin 
which they feel sure that they would be pressed to give 
up should there be a genuine revival, and others still 
because they are not willing to make the sacrifice upon 
which the coming of a revival is conditioned. 

What are the conditions upon the meeting of which a 
revival may be expected ? 

Prayer, faith, and personal work on the part of those 
pleading for it. 



REVIVALS. 27 

Why is it that so many prayers for revivals are not 
granted ? 

Because they are not offered with pure motives from 
pure hearts. God says, " If a man regard iniquity in 
his heart the Lord will not hear him." A prominent 
and successful soul saver has told of an official member 
who sought a baptism of revival power. He did not 
receive it. He inquired of a wise man what the reason 
could be. Was asked his motive in thus praying. An- 
swered, that he might be happy. Was told that the 
devils in hell might pray with as pure a motive as that. 
He went away enraged, but soon came back with the 
glad tidings that wJien he began seeking it not that he 
might be happy, but that he might win souls , the bap- 
tism came. Selfish prayers fall back to the earth like 
lead. 

Revivals or a Winding up. 

Three hundred thousand divorces in this country 
the last twenty years ! Then you say there isn't any 
need of revivals and outpourings of the Holy Spirit. 
If our nation rushes on in sin as it is going now, I do 
not wonder the Adventist says the world is coming to an 
end shortly. If the brakes are not put on, and there are 
not general revivals in the cities, and a much deeper 
work of grace upon the hearts of God's people, and they 
turn to the Lord, there will be a winding up of all things 
here. — Rev. Joseph Cook. 

Revival Opposition. 

He who opposes scriptural revivals, or any other divine 
movement, is like a man who would stop and knock his 
head against the corner-stone of a big church every 



28 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

time he passed it. The church could stand it all right, 
but it would be hard on the poor man's head. 

Some by opposing holiness and resisting revivals have 
acted thus foolishly. The holiness temple still stands 
in all its stately grandeur, and revivals sweep on like a 
resistless Niagara, but the "heads" of opposers are in 
a sad condition. 

Such should be pitied and prayed for. Many already 
have seen their folly and fully yielded both hands and 
hearts to Him against whom in " ignorance and unbelief " 
they sinned. 

Revivals a Remedy for Divisions in the Church. 

" Go, and I will be with you and give you success," was 
the substance of the message that God gave me as I 
decided in response to Pastor S's invitation to conduct 
revival services with him. 

I soon found that Satan had things there about to suit 
him. 

At the last two meetings many of the members had 
withdrawn from the church, and very few had favored 
the pastor's return that year. 

Only a few came to the meetings at first, but God 
heard prayer, blessed our labors, and soon the work 
revived. It shortly reached the disaffected members. 
What tears of penitence ! What mutual forgivenesses ! 

"If you are willing to take me into the church 
again, I'll come back on probation," said one in public ; 
and nearly all who had withdrawn felt the same way, 
and came back into the church. 

Nothing so unites people as receiving the Spirit, 
which makes all one in Christ Jesus. 



REVIVALS. 29 

Revivals a Sure Cure 

For spiritual colds. Many people have foolishly 
exposed themselves in the damp, foggy lowlands of dis- 
obedience, or amid the blizzards that are continually 
raging on the bleak hill-tops of unbelief, which brings 
a spiritual cold that causes wrong views of Jesus 
and His work. Sometimes it affects the heart, so that 
there is little or no charity for others. This condition is 
often attended by a high fever of variance, strife, and 
contentions, in which the patients become so spiritually 
delirious that they harbor hard feelings toward others, 
and do not forgive others as they want God to forgive 
them. Sometimes it settles on the lungs in such a way 
that it is very difficult to speak or pray, and it often 
causes spiritual respiration to cease altogether, ending in 
spiritual death. 

A genuine revival will banish the cold and bring the 
dead to life. Glory to God ! 

Revival Excitement 

There are two ways of destroying icebergs. One is 
to pound them to pieces, and the other is to melt them. 
The latter method is thus described by Talmage, in 
"The Boy Preacher." 

"Did you ever hear that there was a convention 
once held among the icebergs in the Arctic ? It seems 
that the summer was coming on, and the sun was 
getting hotter and hotter, and there was danger that 
the whole ice-field would break up and flow away ; 
so the tallest and the coldest and the broadest of all 
the icebergs, the very king of the Arctics, stood at 
the head of the convention, and with a gavel smote 



30 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

on the table of ice, calling the convention to order. 
But the sun kept growing in intensity of heat, and 
the south wind blew stronger and stronger, and soon 
all the ice-fields began to grind up, iceberg against ice- 
berg, and to flow away. The first resolution passed 
by the convention was, ^Resolved, That we abolish 
the sun.' But the sun would not be abolished. The 
heat of the sun grew greater and greater, until after 
a while the very king of the icebergs began to perspire 
under the glow, and the smaller icebergs fell over, 
and the cry was, *Too much excitement! Order! 
Order ! * Then the whole body, the whole field of ice, 
began to flow out, and a thousand voices began to 
ask, 'Where are we going now.!* Where are we 
floating to.-* We will all break to pieces.' By this 
time the icebergs had reached the Gulf Stream, and 
melted into the bosom of the Atlantic Ocean. The 
warm sun is the eternal Spirit ; the icebergs are frigid 
Christians ; the warm Gulf Stream is a great revival. 
The ocean into which everything melted is the great, 
wide heart of the pardoning and sympathizing God." 

Judges and Lawyers Convinced 

I have always found that when the gospel was prop- 
erly presented, they were the most accessible class of 
men. I have never to my recollection seen a case in 
which judges were not convinced of the truth of the 
gospel, where they have attended meetings in the revi- 
vals I have witnessed. I have often been very much 
affected in conversation with members of the legal pro- 
fession by the manner in which they would consent to 
propositions to which persons of ill-disciplined minds 
would have objected. — From Fmncys AjitobiograpJiy, 



REVIVALS. 31 

True and Sham Revivals. 

True revivals are born from above. 

Sham revivals, from below. 

True revivals proclaim the whole gospel. 

Sham revivals skip the terrors of the law, the doom 
of the damned, the depravity of the soul, assurance of 
conversion, and the claims of heart holiness, and substi- 
tute instead a sickly sentimentalism. 

True revivals proclaim the truth fearlessly, no mat- 
ter whom it hits. 

Sham revivals, for fear of Esquire Consequence, or 
Trustee Hypocrisy, either touch very lightly, or else let 
entirely alone, any needed truths that would offend 
them. 

True revivals not only command men to repent, but 
teach them what to repent of. 

Sham revivals are silent on the subject of repent- 
ance for fear of hurting men's feelings. 

True revivals urge their children not to rest until 
they know they are converted. 

Sham revivals take it for granted that men are saved 
because they weep or come forward or rise for prayers. 

True revivals are deeply concerned over the quality 
of conversions. 

Sham revivals, over counting the so-called converts. 

True revivals change the nature, and not only get 
their converts into the Church, but register them in 
the "Book of Life." 

Sham revivals do not affect the heart at all, and get 
the name no farther than a slip of paper. 

True revivals bring the sanctifying baptism of the 
Holy Spirit to the hearts of believers, as well as the 
kiss of pardon upon the brow of the penitent. 



32 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Sham revivals are as afraid of sanctification as the devil 
is said to be of holy water. 

True revivals are awake to the fact of formality and 
worldliness among professors, and seek the conversion 
of sinners who are in the Church, as earnestly as sinners 
without. 

Sham revivals shut their eyes to the fact of uncon- 
verted professors, and take it for granted that all who 
belong to the churches are saved. 

True revivals always bear some permanent fruit. 

Sham revivals leave a church and community in a 
worse condition than before. 

True revivals are a dread to the persistently wicked, 
but the joy of the children of God. 

Sham revivals are insipid to the wicked, sickening 
to the saints, disgusting to God, and delightful to no 
one but the devil. 

True revivals are like refreshing showers to the 
thirsty earth. 

Sham revivals are like blasts from the desert, which 
blight and destroy. 

May the true abound ! 

Revival Hints. 

The leaders of course must seek, claim, and retain 
the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

Th%road to this indispensable qualification is through 
the valleys of Confession, Self-Abasement, Entire 
Consecration, and Complete Trust. 

This alone "drew" surging throngs at Pentecost 
and will in many places. It is also proper and often 
needful to scatter the notices of the meeting, visit from 



REVIVALS. 33 

house to house, call at shops and other places where 
men are, put up big posters, announce startling themes, 
hold street meetings, or do any other rightful thing to 
get the attention of the people from things ordinary 
to the meetings and things eternal. 

Then the truth must be placed before them and 
they be vehemently urged to embrace it at once. 

Sermons must be fervent and to the point. 

If saved people are in the congregation their testi- 
mony is a power which often can be utilized. 

No expedient for committing people has been more 
highly honored of God than the altar service. 

A band of workers should be organized to press 
penitents to the altar in the after meeting. 

It is usually wise at the close of a preaching to 
permit all to go who are not in earnest about the 
salvation of themselves or others. 

The aisles should be kept open, even if the people 
have to go away. 

Let the Holy Spirit notify penitents when they are 
converted. 

Praise God whenever there is a conversion. 

Seek out those under conviction, after the service 
is over, and if possible persuade them to yield. 

Give God all the glory. 

A Revival Spirit and a Worldly Spirit 

Either will show itself. 

The first by a desire to save men. 

The second by indifference. 

The first by self-denial. 

The second by self-indulgence. 



34 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

The first by a love for spiritual things. 

The second by an aversion to them. 

The first will find its joy in God's service. 

The second, in the world's amusements. 

The first will seek to rescue men. 

The second, to amuse them. 

The first will devote its energies to edify. 

The second, to entertain. 

The first is ambitious to please God. 

The second, man. 

The first aims to be like Jesus. 

The second, like " other folks." 

The first loves holiness. 

The second hates it. 

The first will buoy up to heaven. 

The second will sink down to hell. 

Reader, which have you } 

The Revival Needed. 

If God should let a red-hot, sanctified, John Brown 
sort of a man, burst upon society, — a man that would 
strike as much terror to the dead pulpits of the Church as 
the dens of iniquity, — it would be the thing we need. . . . 
Many of these revivalists held the ruinous error, that 
depravity is never extirpated from the soul, but only 
covered up by the imputed robe of Christ's personal 
holiness. That doctrine has no earthquake power in 
it. It is a poetical device of the devil ; for he loves 
to be covered over with the borrowed costume of 
Christ, provided he can retain a niche in the heart. 
Oh, no ! In the revival I mean, the carnal mind is 
never repressed under borrowed garments, but torn 



REVIVALS. 35 

out root and branch ; a revival in which no one ever 
rises for prayers, but where they fall and pray for 
themselves, and weep and mourn, and make the doctor 
think they are insane ; a revival that will make preach- 
ers forget their manuscripts, and burst out and weep 
in the pulpit ; a cyclone of mysterious omnipresence 
that, when it strikes a church or community, will 
make people awfully mad or awfully happy. 

I declare in the presence of God and his hosts, I 
am ready for just such a moral scene. Nothing is so 
alarming as the utter absence of alarm in the churches. 
Nothing is so dreadfully terrific to my mind as that 
sinners have no terror. Oh that God would so bap- 
tize with fire a thousand people as to render them 
incomprehensible amazements of power ! Oh for a 
few men so dead to all things but God, and so filled 
with Him as to make them more than a match for the 
rest of mankind! O Thou triune God of Sinai, 
Calvary, and Pentecost ! art thou not now nursing, 
under the horizon, the lightning and thunder and ram 
of an amazing holiness revival ? Lord, let it come ! 
Let it strike our nation ! Though it may blow the 
steeples of our abominable church pride in the dust ; 
though it may thrust our philanthropic fairs and festi- 
vals in the gutter ; blow the French music out of our 
choirs and the feathers out of our bonnets ; though 
it should confound all the wise ones, and be under- 
stood by no one but Thy divine self, let it come ! — 
Rev. G. D. Watson. 

The Coming Revival. 

As the lightning falls from above when certain atmos- 
pheric conditions are met, so the revival will come 



36 REVIVAL KiNDLtlTG^, 

when the atmosphere of the Church shall be sufficiently 
charged with hope and faith and prayer. 

It will melt the ice of formality and wordliness in 
which multitudes have frozen to death, and will form 
Mississippies Of saving grace, upon v/hich all the world 
may float out into the gulf of full, free, and eternal sal- 
vation. 

It will make saints feel d joy a million times deeper 
than soldiers for their country, or college boys over 
pugilistic victories. 

It will cremate tobacco, snuff, opium, and their kin- 
dred, liberate their victims, and cleanse them from filth 
without and from sin within. 

It will transform hovels into Christian homes. It will 
make hypocrites howl with rage and saints sing with 
rapture. 

Its mighty spiritual electric currents will throw such 
vivid light on Error that, frightened at her own hideous- 
ness, she will " writhe in pain, and die amid her worship- 
ers ;" will so "shock " the devotees of fashion, folly, and 
formality that they will faint for very fear. In char- 
acters of flame, a million times more vivid than those 
which frenzied voluptuous Belshazzer, it will blazen 
words of doom upon ball-roOms ; brothels ; saloons ; legis- 
lative halls that license them ; nunneries ; so-called 
churches, that have become training schools for the 
theatre ; and all other haunts where sin, masked or other- 
wise, seeks to hide his grimy head. It will shake all 
earth with a mighty moral earthquake that will topple, 
as though they were children's play-houses, principali- 
ties, powers, kingdoms, empires, republics, and ecclesias- 
tical systems moss-covered with decay of ages. 



REVIVALS. 37 

Like a stupendous avalanche it will first warn, then 
startle, then appall, and then "grind to powder" "the 
great men and the mighty men and the chief captains " 
who have oppressed the poor, withstood the truth, and 
serving self instead of God have persisted in their 
wrong. 

Like a black storm-cloud, with gleeful fury its light- 
nings will leap upon false professors and professed min-^ 
isters of Christ whose lives and lips belie the profession 
which they make, — the "generation of vipers" of this 
nineteenth century, who by crying, " Peace, peace, when 
there is no peace," and by either silence or words of 
cheer have said amen to that which God condemns. 
Like Jesus in the temple, in spite of plea of proud Phari- 
see 01* cowardly priest, its "whip of small cords" will 
snap amid the frolics, the feastings, and the stage per- 
formances of modern churchly worldlings. 

Like a mighty tidal wave its flood will sweep through 
the souls of men, cleansing from inborn depravity, fill- 
ing with perfect love, and perfecting them in that holi- 
ness without which none can see the Lord. 

It will so completely annihilate pride within the 
human heart that all her signboards which she hangs 
out on the bodies of those in whom she dwells will drop 
off like dead leaves when the buds burst in spring-time. 

Like the shower, it will refresh and revive all that is 
of God, and leave the spiritual atmosphere pure and 
sweet. 

Like the sun, it will banish darkness, illuminate the 
whole earth, and fill it with the light of the knowledge 
and glory of God. 

Brother, do you work, watch, pray, and look for such 



38 BEVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

a revival as this ? As true as God has spoken, it's com- 
ing ! COMING ! COMING ! 

Variance Vanishes. — Where true revival fires 
are burning, petty strifes, envies, and jealousies vanish. 
Let these fires be kindled all over this land, and the 
Devil of Discord would be cast out, and the Angel of 
Peace would wave her white banner over every inch of 
the soil of the world's great republic. — Nashville 
Christian Advocate. 

Revivals a Cure for Crime. — In many instances 
in these revivals, restitution sometimes to the amount 
of many thousand dollars was made by those whose 
consciences troubled them, either because they had 
obtained the money directly by fraud or by some selfish 
overreaching in their business interests. — C. G. Finney. 

Sure Cure for False "Isms." — I have learned, 
again and again, that a man needs only to be thoroughly 
convinced of sin by the Holy Ghost, to give up at 
once and forever, and gladly give up, Universalism, and 
Unitarianism. — C. G. Finney. 

A New Start. — The "revival " that would be hurt 
by a sermon on any fundamental doctrine of the Bible, or 
by a collection for any worthy object, needs to take a new 
start on a better line. — Nashville Christian Advocate. 

Religious revivals are the life of the world. As 
Nature would die with continued winter, so the world 
would utterly perish in wickedness if God did not dis- 
play His saving power. — Rev. James H. Potts. 

Revivals an Antidote for Mormonism. — The 
Methodist revival now in progress in Salt Lake City is 



REVIVALS. 39 

capturing many Mormon converts from Scandinavia 
who have recently entered Utah. — Selected. 

Formality is spiritual ice ; a revival will melt it. 
Worldliness is spiritual treason ; a revival will banish it. 

All live Christians desire revivals, and all dead Chris- 
tians need them. — Rev. James H. Potts. 



SECTION IV. 

REVIVAL PREPARATION. 

"Tarry ye . . . until ye be endued with power from on high." — 
Jesus. 

Begin at Home. 

Wise are they who heed the truth found in the 
following extract from an old revival tract: — 

"Let us seek a revival in our own hearts first. It 
is only hypocrisy to talk about the low state of religion 
among our neighbors, unless we begin at home. But 
when we have humbled ourselves before God, and 
besought Him to revive His work within us, we may then 
look out upon the Church and world around us, and plead 
for them. Pray for your ministers ; pray for your fellow 
Christians ; pray for the world, perishing in its sins. 
' O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the 
midst of the years make known; in wrath remember 

mercy.' " 

* 
Revival Dynamite. 

*' Ye shall receive power." This word "power" is a 
translation of the same word from which the expressive 
one "dynamite" is derived. The kingdom of God shall 
come in power, — dynamite. The power — dynamite — 
of the Lord was present. It is in the spiritual world 
what dynamite is in the material world. The truth may 

:40D 



REVIVAL PREPARATION. 41 

be preached, the word declared, the Bible read, and 
personal work performed ; but if this power does not 
descend, nor accompany the work, nor touch the people, 
the arm of salvation is shortened. This power is 
repeatedly promised. Its importance is emphasized. 

It is the one necessary gift, which must precede any 
extensive work of grace. — Henry W. Bennett. 

Conditions of Revival Success. 

Revival methods will vary with different times, places, 
and people ; but the conditions, like those of life, growth, 
and fruitage, are always and everywhere the same. 
Pentecost is a graphic pen-picture of the meeting of 
these conditions and of the revival results which may 
follow. 

1. They realized the imperative importance of the 
baptism of the Holy Spirit to fit them for the work. 

2. They met to pray for this. 

3. They claimed the fulfilment of the exceeding 
great and precious promises which assure of his coming. 

4. They were inflexibly determined to prevail, and 
tarry until they did, were it ten days or longer. 

5. They met the fixed conditions of self-abandon- 
ment and trust upon which the promise is conditioned. 

6. They were of "one accord" as to the object, 
motive, and time of the answer of their prayer. 

7. As is always the case when these conditions are 
met, victory was given. 

If we meet like conditions, God will come to us, and 
that coming will be a revival; and whether the people 
repent and are converted as under Peter, or resent and 
persecute as under Stephen, victory will be the result. 



42 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Revival Inquiries. 

Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit since 
you were converted ? 

In the early part of their experience Christ's " dis- 
ciples" "were not of the world, " had "left all" and 
followed Him, and their names were written in heaven ; 
yet they had not received the "gift of the Holy Ghost" 
until the convention in the Pentecostal chamber. Co^ 
nelius was a devout, liberal, praying man in the early 
part of his religious experience; but it was only after 
deep heart-searchings and earnest seeking, and the 
instructions of Peter the holiness evangelist, that he 
knew what it was to be filled "with the Spirit." 

These and other instances show, — 

(i) That one may be a behever and not know what 
it is to have the baptism of sanctifying power. 

(2) That it may be received instantaneously in answer 
to the prayer of faith. 

(3) That it is a gift to be received, not a state to be 
"grown into" nor a possession to be purchased. One 
might, with just as much sense, talk of growing into a 
Christmas present or New Year's gift as of thus pos- 
sessing the gift of pardon or of the Holy Ghost. 

Beloved, are you now in the c.onscious possession of 
this Pentecostal endowment, without which it is impossi- 
ble to do the most effective revival work .? 

" Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is 
come upon you." 

Spiritual Icebergs. 

A revival in which young converts are brought into 
the church without the church being revived, is like pour- 



REVIVAL PREPARATION. 43 

ing hot water on an iceberg in the Frigid Zone. The water 
soon congeals and becomes a part of the iceberg. The 
scriptural way is to float the whole church out into the 
"gulf stream" of divine love and power, where, under 
the sunshine of revival grace, it will become so melted 
that it will assimilate the showers of young converts 
that seek union with it. 

Relation of the Holy Spirit to Revival Work. 

As great central suns are said to have thrown off^ 
other lesser worlds which revolve around them, so He is 
the source from whence all other true evangelist's power 
springs. 

He has labored incessantly for centuries, and yet is as 
"mighty in labors" as in the beginning. 

Although infinite in wisdom and in love, yet wherever 
He labors He provokes the bitterest heart hostility both 
towards His methods and Himself. When His councils 
are followed, souls are saved ; otherwise His work is an 
apparent failure. 

He may be " vexed," and then becomes " an enemy " 
whose might is awful. He knows all that is in man, and 
often brings to light the " hidden things of the heart " 
with Judgment Day vividness. 

He is a terror to wordlings and formalists and hypo- 
crites, and they treat Him just as they did Jesus when 
He was on earth. 

He is the only person in the universe who has the 
authority to tell people when their sins are forgiven, and 
He always does this when they are and can make the 
subject feel as certain of it as of existence. He has no 
fixed salary, and will go just as quickly to a poor charge 



44 REVIVAL KINDLINGb. 

as to a rich, and pleads with a single individual as 
readily as with a multitude. 

He makes people weep for grief and then shout and 
laugh for joy. 

People have fallen like dead men under His power, 
and some of His meetings have been so noisy that it was 
reported that His converts were " drunk with new 
wine." The worth of His work, however, is not to be 
measured by outward demonstrations so much as by the 
faith, hope, love, patience, gentleness, liberality, self- 
denial, and boldness that possess all who receive Him. 

Cowardice, fear, unbelief, pride, envy, revenge, and 
their kindred hate him with a bitterness born of the pit, 
and He has been known to drive them all from a soul 
in an instant. He always meets his engagements on 
time to a second, and would be glad to enter on an 
aggressive campaign at once with every person and 
church in the land. 

All desiring His presence will address the Father in 
the name of Jesus. His name is the Holy Spirit. 

Try Holiness. 

A minister had gone to a new circuit, where he 
expected to find marked religious earnestness ; but to his 
great disappointment, he was met by apathy and formal- 
ity. The minister's heart became sad, having made 
many ineffectual efforts to rouse the church. In a most 
discouraged state of mind, he wrote to a friend, saying, 
" I have tried nearly everything to bring about a better 
state of things, and am now about at my wits* end. Last 
night, however, while pondering over the state of mat- 
ters, it came to my mind as if a voice spoke to me, * Try 



UeVIVAL PnEPAtlATtO^. 45 

holiness ; get the people nearer to God, and lead them to 
seek a higher Christian Hfe.' " When we have witnessed 
the many ineffectual methods employed to increase the 
spiritual interest of the church, such as lectures, con- 
certs, sociables, literary entertainments, etc., and all the 
while the church growing sicker, we have felt like exclaim- 
ing in thunder tones, "Try holiness ! Appoint a Pente- 
cost, and see what that will do. Tarry in some chamber 
until you are all filled with the Holy Ghost. That will give 
power and fire, and saved people will be added to the 
church. Try holiness ! " — Selected. 

Jhe lilaiural Order. 

For the Christian worker, peace, work, power, the 
only possible natural order. 

The great work must not be done in the energy of 
the flesh. 

1. Regeneration. 

2. Sanctification. 

3. Anointing. Must have them all, to do effective 
work for Christ. 

Many Christians have never so much as heard of the 
Holy Ghost. Finney was so anointed by the Spirit 
that a glance brought a scoffing sinner to deep conviction 
of sin and led to his conversion. 

Our Lord never preached until he was anointed by 
the Spirit. — Dr. Pierson. 

Wesley Speaks. 

John Wesley said, "When Christian perfection is 
not strongly and explicitly preached, there is seldom any 
remarkable blessing from God, and little life in the 



46 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

members. Speak, and spare not. Let not regard for 
any man induce you to betray the truth of God. Till 
you press the believers to expect full salvation now, you 
must not look for any revival." 

An Unfailing Revival Recipe. 

" The following, from the St. Louis Christian Advocate 
is worthy of prayerful thought : " Much has been 
written and much said as to the methods and manners 
of a revival. That a thorough, profound, and wide- 
reaching revival is the remedy for our spiritual ills, we 
believe. A true revival is nothing more nor less than 
God coming to His Church to destroy the evil and to 
advance the good. Finances, brotherhood, the grace of 
giving, of praying, and of living, are all established and 
mightily helped by the revival. Organization, fellow- 
ship, finance, singing, praying, orthodoxy, experience, 
discipline, — everything was in fine order the day after the 
Pentecost revival. The presence and power of the 
Holy Ghost helps things at both ends mightily. 

** The Christian Church needs that her machinery be 
well lubricated by the Holy Ghost. Nothing takes the 
starch and stiffness of the world out of the Church like 
a genuine revival. 

"The Methodist 'Discipline' has one unfailing, universal 
receipt for this revival. We reproduce it to refresh and 
emphasize. It is the words of our vow when standing 
on the threshold of our full itinerant life. Before bishop 
and conference we make this solemn asseveration in 
that solemn hour : — 

" * Are you going on to perfection .''' * Do you expect to 
be made perfect in love in this life ?' * Are you groaning 
after it ? * 



REVIVAL PBEPARATiON. 47 

"Hidden in these simple, familiar, incisive questions 
are the germs of every deep and genuine revival. 

" If the preachers, bishops, connectional officers, pre- 
siding elders, preachers in charge, and editors would 
begin in dead earnest to meet the obligations of that itin- 
erant vow, couched in the above words, and would reduce 
the history to a practice and the vow to an experience, 
such a revival as has never been known would visit and 
bless our Zion, and it would be so thoroughly impreg- 
nated by divine grace and power that it would stand in 
the ages to come as the bulwark of spiritual Protestant- 
ism in this country. May God hasten the day ! " 

Revival Preparation. 

The following burning words from the lips of Bishop 
Pierce will prove an inspiration to every true revival 
worker : — 

" Now, then, I beseech the preachers to set their 
hearts upon this general baptism of the Spirit; arrange 
all your plans to this end. Adapt your sermons to this 
result. Enlist the laity in the activities of the Church. 
Give the women something to do for Christ and human 
salvation. Interest the children, and make the Sunday 
school auxiliary do the work. Do not be contented with 
good meetings and partial, scanty results. Aim at 
great things, ask for great things, expect great things. 
You, my brethren, are doing good in many ways, but 
this is incidental, — a work by the way ; your first chief 
business is the conversion of sinners. 

" Let not the erection of churches divide your mind or 
delay your steps. The parsonage ought to be built, the 
collections all taken, every duty done ; but do not 



48 HEVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Stop short of a revival among your people. Let nothing 
satisfy you but success. * Make full proof of your min- 
istry.' * Do the work of an evangelist.' Travail in 
soul for those for whom Christ died. Hunt the lost 
sheep. Persuade the prodigal to return to his Father's 
house. Pluck the brand from the burning. Be instant 
in season, out of season. By all means save some. 

" Let us all pray and work for another Pentecost. Oh 
that we too may count our converts by the thousand. 
Why not double our membership this year ? Is this 
extravagant, presumptuous, absurd.^ Why so.? You 
never saw the like, never read of it, never heard of 
it .? Well, well ! is that the measure of your faith } 
Are your hopes bounded by what you have seen, read, 
and heard ? Is there nothing better "^ Are we to live 
forever at this poor, dying rate .? God forbid ! Is the 
Lord's ear heavy that He cannot hear .? Is His hand 
shortened that He cannot save ? His promise is given : 
let us prove Him. His power is sufficient : let us test 
it. Oh that Zion may travail. Let every member go 
into his chamber and pray three times a day, 'Thy 
kingdom come.* Let every preacher ascend Mount 
Carmel, and pray till the little cloud rises from the sea, 
and then in the spirit of prophecy announce to the 
Church that he hears the sound of abundance of rain. 

" * Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye become 
endued with power form on high. ' " 

When a Revival may be Expected. 

I. When it is desired above everything else. 2. 
When the church unitedly prays and plans for it. 3. 
Where the church seeks to save the people, instead of 



REVIVAL PREPARATION. 49 

entertaining and amusing them. 4. Where a number 
unitedly pray and exercise faith for it. 

•' If my people, which are Called by my name, shall 
humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and 
turn from their wicked ways ; then will I hear from 
heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their 
land." 

Victory, 

I was converted at twenty and entered the ministry 
at the age of twenty-six. During all this time I was 
experimentally ignorant of the nature of the gift of the 
Holy Ghost. Surely it was offered in the Word, but I 
was ignorant of it7 Reading books in my conference 
studies, Wesley on "Perfection" and Foster's "Christian 
Purity," and meeting some laymen full of the Holy 
Ghost, I was convinced of my need. My dearth of soul 
was further manifest in the little fruit borne for the 
Master. I searched the Scriptures as the only rule for 
faith and practice. I saw there the believer's inheritance 
or privilege, as well as necessity, the gift of the Holy 
Ghost. I saw it as the need of all Christians, and be- 
fore obtaining it myself wrote a tract reminding Christ- 
ians of their privileges. I sought earnestly, as I thought 
now. I presently found myself convicted on the line of 
giving. I had given five to twenty-five dollars per year 
to the Church. I now felt moved to give at least one- 
tenth of my income. I found rest on that line. I be 
lieve the withholding more than is meet is a great cause 
for the spiritual poverty of many. There was one 
appointment on my circuit which gave me much trouble. 
Dissensions abounded. Wrath was found where love 
should dwell. I would have left the place only for the 



50 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

duty of continuing the work. I still prayed for the 
baptism of power. I performed all the duties presented 
to me, but instead of getting more power I seemed to 
be losing what I had. At this place of trial, in the class 
meeting, God came in the person of the Holy Ghost, 
and filled my soul, until in my weakness I cried unto 
Him to stay His hand. I knew its meaning. A new 
life was begotten in my soul. Then came days of re- 
joicing, with the ** joy unspeakable and full of glory." In 
a short time the appointment I would have willingly left, 
and where I received the baptism, was the scene of 
a glorious revival, and sixty were converted to God. — 
Rev. G. W. Thompson, Livingston Manor, N. Y. 

Sanctification Essentia/ to Permanent Results. 

The necessity of the sanctification of the Church in 
order to insure permanent revival results is forcibly 
illustrated in the following extract from Finney's " Lec- 
tures to Professed Christians :" "When I was an evan- 
gelist I labored in a church that had enjoyed many 
revivals, and it was the easiest thing in the world to get 
the church to go out and bring in sinners to the meetings ; 
and the impenitent would come in and hear, but there 
was no deep feeling and no faith in the church. The 
minister saw that this way of proceeding was ruining 
the church, and that each revival brought about in this 
manner made the converts more and more superficial ; 
and unless we came to a stand, and got more sanctifica- 
tion in the church, we should defeat our object. We 
began to preach with that view, and the church members 
writhed under it. The preaching ran so directly across 
all their former notions about the way to promote 



REVIVAL PREPARATION, 51 

religion, that some of them were quite angry. They 
would run about and talk, but would do nothing else. 
But after a terrible state of things, many of them broke 
down, and became as humble and teachable as little 
children." 

Revival Recipe. 
The following plan, recommended by Mr. Moody, is 
doubtless one of the best. He says, "The best way is for 
the pastor to say he wants to see all who desire the work 
of revival. Don't let any one else come. Then get 
down on your knees and pour out your hearts, asking 
God to revive yourselves. Don't be in a hurry to pray 
for your friends; hold the people to themselves; you 
never see an anxious church without souls being saved. 
Don't wait for the whole church to move. Get two or 
three, and soon there will be six or seven. Form a pray- 
ing band ; pray for the work, and the blessing will come. 
That plan never failed yet." 

A Sanctificafion that led to Two Hundred Conversions. 

The following experience of Bro. T. L. Adams of St. 
Jo, Tex., illustrates the truth of the adage that one 
believer fully sanctified is equal to ten conversions : — 

''When a boy, preparing for the itinerant ministry of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church South, I went home 
from Vanderbilt University to spend vacation and recu- 
perate purse and health. At Milan, Tenn., I met a presid- 
ing elder of the Memphis Conference, who needed a 
preacher to fill a vacancy made by an aged minister failing 
in health. After thinking and earnestly praying over the 
matter, I was satisfied God led me to go to this work. 
Arriving on the work the (Decaturville circuit) I found 



52 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

that though I had religion I was in no revival spirit. I 
betook myself to prayer. Went on through the first meet- 
ing of eight or ten days, with no satisfactory results. 
The second meeting came on by this time. I began to 
realize I, though from a university, was not in a condi- 
tion to save sinners. I spent most all my time now, not 
required in the services, in earnest, agonizing prayer to 
God for help. Going out one evening before sundown, I 
began in wrestling prayer, Jacob-like ; and, a little after 
nine o'clock, while in deep agony, all alone out there in 
the woods, I felt that * my prayer had prevailed,* and I 
had the victory. The next day, the fifth day of the unsuc- 
cessful meeting, I preached ; and though not conscious of 
extraordinary power, the power came, and amidst weep- 
ing penitents, rejoicing converts, and shouting Chris- 
tians, sixteen made clear professions of faith in Christ, 
and in three days between forty and fifty were happily 
saved. And the power didn't stop there, but every- 
where on my circuit that I preached, the power was 
present to save, till near two hundred souls were brought 
from darkness to light. 

" * Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold 
me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors 
thy ways ; and sinners shall be converted unto thee * (Ps. 
51:12,13)." 

How a Texas Preacher Received Power from on High. 

This summer, during a camp meeting near here, I was 
conversing with a young preacher who was hungering and 
thristing for all the fulness of God. He had never 
heard the second blessing explained fully. All minis- 
ters with whom he had spoken on the subject gave him 



HE VITAL PREPARATION. 53 

no encouragement, and he was almost in despair, and 
felt that he was not prepared for the work of the minis- 
try, without a second work. I gave him " Out of Egypt 
into Canaan " to read, when he returned home. When 
he finished reading it he made a complete surrender. 
He wrote me this week that the Lord was blessing his 
labors abundantly. He is only eighteen years of age. — 
Katie Lord, CuerOy Tex. 

From the Plough to the Pulpit 

When a pastor, I became acquainted with a man who 
was brightly converted in early life, and who for some 
time had felt that he was called to the ministry. He 
was reticent, and, feeling unqualified, had been hesitat- 
ing about heeding the call. 

During our meetings he came into a clear experience 
of justifying grace. He then sought and received the 
gift of sanctifying, fear-dispelling, joy-bringing power, 
without which none are qualified for soul-saving work. 

What a change ! From a '* crooked path " professor, 
who had about all that he could do to breathe spiritually 
at all, he became first a faithful steward, then a zeal- 
ous exhorter, then an efficient local preacher, and now 
he is a successful evangelistic pastor, yearly winning 
souls to Christ. 

The turning point in his life as a soul-winner was when 
he fully consecrated all to Christ, and sought until he 
received the ''gift of the Holy Ghost." 

His life, like that of many others, is an illustration of 
the truth of that statement of an eminent divine, that, 
" One person fully sanctified is equal to ten conversions.'* 
The philosophy of the truth of this statement lies in the 



54 HEVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

fact that one such person will, like this brother, bring 
about many more than ten conversions. 

How a "Scieniist" Became a "Revivalist" 

Blessings you may count by the hundreds and thou- 
sands. Thank God, we have showers of blessings in this 
land of constant sunshine, but we have two grand cross- 
ings, the Red Sea and the Jordan, we never can forget. 
The two memorable departures commemorated by Cal- 
vary and Pentecost as far transcend the ordinary blessings 
as the moon and sun eclipse the stars. 

Each of these blessings developed wonderful revolu- 
tions in my life. Till my conversion at sixteen the 
physical predominated, My great delight was in wrest- 
ling, foot-racing, ball-playing, etc. Conversion at once 
destroyed all my appreciation of these physical exercises, 
and I entered the intellectual period. I took the great- 
est delight in all sorts of hard study, went through the 
collegiate course, ransacked the world for books, de- 
lighted in dead languages, mathematics, the sciences, 
philosophies, and the hardest studies. Meanwhile, pur- 
suant to an early call, I preached fifteen years with all my 
might, committing the awful blunder of substituting my 
education and intellect for the Holy Ghost, as I knew 
nothing about preaching with the Holy Ghost sent down 
from Heaven, (i Pet: i : 12.) 

After nineteen years, sanctification came. Then I 
entered the spiritual period of my life, which will sweep 
through the gates of death and continue through all 
eternity. To my unutterable surprise, God made me 
what people call a "revivalist," which I had never 
dreamed of. God came and swept away all the rubbish 



iiEVIVAL PREPARATION. 55 

of science, literature, philosophy, mathematics, and 
theology, and gave me the sweet, simple story of Jesus 
and his love to go and tell to all the world. 

In the physical period I walked in utter darkness, 
though a church member with an irreproachable char- 
acter ; in the intellectual, I enjoyed the twilight of sal- 
vation ; for the last nineteen years I have walked in 
cloudless day. Hallelujah forever ! — Godbey. 

Mow Received. 

It is not bestowed on a favored few, for God is no 
respecter of persons. But there are conditions upon 
which its outpouring depend. Every incident I have 
examined, and the lives of those workers who have had 
it, agree in a few things concerning this, such as a 
belief in this gift, consecration of life, and fasting and 
prayer for it. Somebody, and at times many persons, 
with one accord, were in prayer for this special blessing. 
There were fastings, great travail for souls, long vigils of 
prayer, and a mighty faith. One man. Rev. William 
Bramwell, had the habit of praying not less than six 
hours a day. In the case of Rev. Dr. Edwards' great 
meeting, some believers had "spent the whole night 
preceding that sermon in agonizing prayer." Pentecost 
was preceded by ten days' prayer meeting. I believe 
that the Church does not do enough knee work. God 
will be inquired of concerning this thing. He will not 
hear the half-hearted prayer. He will not hear if we 
regard iniquity in our hearts. We must be in earnest. 
John Knox on his calloused knees, with a breaking heart, 
cried, "Give me Scotland or I die." — Henry W. 
Bennett. 



56 REVIVAL itlNDLlNGS, 

The Secret of Soul-saving Success. 

I now come to the most important part of my experi- 
ence, so far as relates to the results of my ministry. 
The question has been discussed in preachers* meet- 
ings ; it has been mysticism to woirdlings and sinners, 
and sometimes even to believers, — the full assurance 
of faith and its results. " How is it, Mr. Harrison, that 
everywhere your labors are crowned with such over- 
whelming success ? If you could preach like Dr. Ver- 
non, it might be attributed to the powerful preaching ; 
but sometimes you don't even exhort at all, and yet you 
seem to draw people by a power that is magnetic. 
Where is the secret } How is it that in June weather, 
with the mercury up to ninety, two or three thousand 
people crowd the church, and hundreds stand outside 
the door begging for admittance ? Why is it that for 
thirteen weeks one of the largest churches in Methodism 
is packed from pulpit to vestibule, week after week ? 
How is it that Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopalian, 
and Christian churches all catch the heavenly spark, 
and the whole city and State are aglow with the glory 
of God's saving power ? " 

I will tell you. I will make it plain to everybody. 
**The full assurance of faith." I was a student at Dr. 
Talmage's Lay College in Brooklyn, and in his family, 
seeking for preparation for some work of usefulness. I 
did not know where. I concluded I would go and see 
an old friend at Long Plains. I told my mother I would 
be back early Monday morning. This was Friday night. 
I intended to be back on Monday, but you shall see how 
God led me. I reached my destination. On meeting 
my friend at Long Plains, he said to me, using the old 
college name, " Harry, anticipating your coming, I 



REVIVAL PnEFAMATtOlr. 67 

have sent out circulars for eight miles around, that to- 
morrow afternoon at three o'clock and at night you are 
to hold revival meetings." I said to him, "My dear 
friend, what possesses you ? " They were as cold as 
death in my church in Boston, had had no revivals for 
years ; even I was not converted at their altar, but in a 
snow-bank. I said to my friend, '* You have made a 
mistake. I do not know anything about revivals." I 
only knew what I enjoyed in my own heart. Said he, 
"Harry, it's out." Said I, "Well, let us go to your 
room and pray over it." We went to his room and 
prayed. He prayed and I prayed, and when the time 
came I went into the pulpit and took a text and preached, 
and had a good time myself whether the people had or 
not; and at the conclusion of the meeting they came 
crowding around and shook hands with me, and I felt 
happy. About five o'clock, after supper was over, my 
friend said to me, " Harry, 1 want to pray." " So do 
I," I said; "let us go into your room, by the fire, and 
pray together." " No," said he, " I want to go behind the 
church, into the woods, and pray there. Father or 
mother or the children might come in and interrupt us 
in my room." So we went out through the snow, into 
the woods, behind the church, and we came to a tree 
that held its foliage all the winter through, and there 
was a green spot under it where there was no snow, and 
we knelt there and prayed. He prayed and I prayed for 
about twenty or thirty minutes, till we got all enthused 
with faith and zeal for God, and it came to be more like 
July than December, for we had got ourselves warm 
inside and hot outside. My friend rose up, with his 
face shining with a great victory, and the tears of joy 



58 Hevival kindliMs. 

rolling down his cheeks, and he said to me, " Harry, we are 
going to have a great revival to-night." I stood still 
and looked at him a moment, and I said, ** My friend, 
what is the matter with you ? talking about a revival ? 
What do you mean?" Said he, "I mean just what I 
say; we are going to have a great revival to-night." 
Said I, "What makes you think that ? " Then I saw the 
light ; then I realized the blessing ; then I comprehended 
the power ; then I saw God as I had never seen him 
before. I saw the fulness of power, — the power of the 
Holy Ghost that God can give to those who believe. 
Here is the secret of the power that God has given me, 
and which has led, under God, to the salvation of more 
than seventeen thousand souls. Said I, ** Why do you 
think that .? " And the answer was, '* I have asked 
God, and I believe Him." I grasped his hand in mine; 
I put his arm in mine ; my soul met his ; my faith kissed 
his. "Amen ! " My heart's desires met his. " Amen ! " 
I said, " I see it ; I see it. Glory to God ! " I nearly lost 
my strength under the weight of glory that filled my soul 
when I saw the willingness of God, the ability of God, and 
the present power of God to give the blessing. I received 
the "full assurance of faith " under the power of God in 
that boy who said to me, " Harry, I have asked God, and I 
believe Him." Heaven help all the people here to get 
on that line to-night. Your churches would all be all 
aflame with the power of God. 

It will not do to ask of God, and limit Him by our 
lack of faith in His answers to prayer. Oh, put away 
the milk of the Word, and stand up in the full measure of 
manhood and womanhood in Christ Jesus, and say, as 
that boy said to me, " I have asked God, and I believe 
Him." 



Mi:nVAL PR^PARATIOK. 59 

1 entered the pulpit that night. The church was 
packed from the chancel to the entry ! Curiosity was on 
tiptoe, to see what such a boy would say. I opened the 
old hymn-book ; I was very happy. I said, " We will sing 
to-night a hymn expressive somewhat of my own feel- 
ings, and I will line it for you, as some may not have 
books. If you prefer sitting you may do so, but I hope 
everybody will sing with me." The organ played the 
tune, and as God led me, I commenced with the first 
line, " Oh for a thousand " — I stopped. I said, " I will 
read the hymn. Oh for a thousand " — I tried it again. 
" Oh for a " — I did not go as far as I did before. If 
I had kept on a little longer I would only have been 
able to say " Oh ! " I was then, as now, as nervous as a 
man can be and live. I was not so careful as ten years 
of experience have made me. I did then what I would 
not do now. I never said a word to the minister, but 
got right down, and out over the altar-rail, and went 
straight to a young man who was crying as if his heart 
would break, and whispered in his ear, and said to him, 
" My 4ear friend, if you must cry, please cry to yourself ; 
cry so that I will not hear you ; I would like to read my 
hymn ; " but he did what the man did in the Scriptures 
when the disciples told him to be still : " he cried so much 
the more." I went back, and again commenced to read 
the hymn, but had not uttered two words till I heard back 
by the third window a strange noise, and I said I must see 
to that, sure. I started, and went back there, and found 
a large, stout man crying like a baby. Said I, " My friend, 
excuse me ; but I would like to be able to read my hymn. 
If you have to cry, please cry quietly." But, just like the 
other man, he cried all the more. About that time I 



60 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

got back to the altar-rail, when I saw a young lady 
sobbing, sobbing, sobbing. I got half way to her and 
stopped, and said to myself, *' You must be careful here ; 
it is a lady." I took another look at her, and I said to 
myself, "Oh! what is this.!*" Her face was very pale, 
her dress black, her bonnet black with white inside. 
I said, " I'll not go to you ; I will let you cry." I went 
back to the pulpit, and I said, " I cannot read my hymn 
while you are sobbing that way. If you have to cry, 
please cry quietly." But when a man is crying to God 
for mercy you cannot stop him. You might as well try 
to stop a stream of water with your hands. They cried 
only more and more. I thought to myself, " Well, 
here I am in a pretty situation, to be sure. I haven't 
got a chance to make my exhortation, or read my hymn, 
or even take up the collection. What shall I do } Why 
are all these people sobbing and crying .? " I made up my 
mind to find out. I went first to the young man of 
nineteen who had been crying by the window, and said, 
" What are you crying for } Nothing has been said to 
cause you to cry." He said, *' Oh, I wish I was a Chris- 
tian !" I went then to the man down by the third win- 
dow, and he said to me, " I wish I was saved." I said I 
would go to that lady who was crying so, and I went and 
asked her, "What are you crying for.? " Said she, " O 
Mr. Harrison, I am in great trouble ! My mother died a 
few weeks ago, and I so wish I was prepared to meet 
her." I went into the pulpit, and asked the minister 
what I should do. Said he, "I don't know, Brother 
Harrison, but pray do something quick." 

I looked at the four or five seats alongside the pulpit 
and said, "These seats will be vacated, and I am going 



REVIVAL PREPARATION. 61 

to have a word of prayer with those who may wish to 
seek God ; " and in an instant, from the first pew to the 
door, they bowed their heads, and sobs and groans 
almost shook the church. I said, " If any here desire to 
be helped by faith and prayer, come and kneel," and 
every seat was packed in two minutes. I said, " Clear 
these front seats." They filled the two front pews in 
less than three minutes. Then I said, " If you want 
to be saved, kneel right where you are." And they fell to 
the ground all over the church ; and that night from half 
past six to eleven o'clock, God shook that place, and 
instead of my going home on Monday, I have not been 
home since to stay. I stayed there twenty-nine nights, 
and God saved nearly the whole town. 

"I have asked God, and I believe Him." There is the 
secret of power. There is "mesmerism." Take it. 
There is "electricity." Get it. There is the power to 
throw a "spell" over a congregation and make them do 
what you will. You may have it. Men say they don't 
understand me, and can't understand me; that I have 
a magnetic power in my body. They tell " stories," 
every one of them. It is faith in God. It is faith in 
God. I want the reporters who are here to-night to put 
it down in big letters and underscore it. I want it to go 
out from Indianapolis to this State and all other States 
that the real secret of power at these revivals — the 
foundation, the superstructure, and the crowning point of 
all is faith in God ! " I have asked God, and I believe 
Him." Since that hour, God has given me seventeen 
thousand souls as the reward-answer of faith. 

It is Pauline, Scriptural Methodism to the last letter. 
Have faith in God, and you can unlock the treasure- 



62 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

house of God's glory and have all you want. Have faith 
in God, and you can get hold of the Eternal Throne. — 
Thomas Harrison in the '^Boy Preacher.** 

I FIND that no preaching does good but that which 
properly presses the use of the means, and urges holi- 
ness of heart. These points I am determined to keep 
close to in all my sermons. — Bishop Asbury. 



SECTION V. 

REVIVAL PRAYER. 
** Revive thy work." 

David's Revival Prayer. 

Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and renew a 
right spirit within me. 

Cast me not away from thy presence ; and take not 
thy Holy Spirit from me. 

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation ; and uphold 
me with thy free spirit. 

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways ; and sinners 
shall be converted unto thee. — Bible. 

The above inspired prayer clearly teaches that to be 
fitted for soul-saving work one should have : — 

(i) His sins forgiven. 

(2) A clean heart. 

(3) A right spirit. 

(4) The divine presence. 

(5) The joy of conscious and complete salvation. 

(6) The indwelling guidance and upholding power of 
the Holy Spirit. 

Prayer for Revival Victory. 

A true revival, whether it be in the heart of one per- 
son or throughout an entire community, begins in the 

[63:j 



64 HE VIVA L KINDLINGS. 

secret chamber of earnest prevailing prayer. Anything, 
therefore, that hinders this is a foe to revivals. Work- 
ers that are strangers to knee work may work up a 
temporary excitement, but never will be able to secure 
the copious outpourings of genuine revival power. If 

" Satan trembles when he sees 
The weakest saint upon his knees," 

what must be his consternation when a score or more, 
not of spiritual weaklings, but of strongmen and women 
of God, together plead with a holy persistency, that will 
not take no for an answer, for revival victory. In order 
for one to pray effectually for a revival, the following 
conditions must be met : — 

1. All sin must be given up. 

2. He must pray with pure motives. 

3. He must be willing that God shall use him as He 
may will to aid in the revival. 

4. He must persist in pleading until he feels sure 
that God hears and answers. 

5. He must make humble confession, and, when in 
his power, restitution, where he may have wronged 
others. 

6. He must be free from an unforgiving spirit. God 
has expressly declared that he will not heed the prayer 
of an unforgiving person, and to offer it were as foolish 
as for a rebel to ask for a pardon while in the act of 
killing government soldiers. 

7. He must be ready to do what Christ would under 
similar circumstances, to seek a reconciliation with any 
who may have trespassed against him. 

8. He must pray in faith, " nothing wavering." 



REVIVAL P BAYER. 65 

9. He must be willing to give all the glory to God, 
not to his prayers or personal work or exhortation or 
sermons. He who prays for a revival, meeting these 
conditions, will have one in his own heart as quickly as 
the Spirit of God can speed there on the wires of prom- 
ises immutable and divine. And then, other con- 
ditions being met, it will quickly spread until a whole 
community is in a blaze of revival glory. 

Knee Work. 

Dr. James A. Duncan, had, on an important occasion, 
delivered a sermon of wonderful intellectual and spiritual 
power. He was asked, " What is the secret of such a 
sermon as that .? " He replied, " The secret of that ser- 
mon is thirteen hours* consecutive prayer." Charles H. 
Spurgeon when asked for the explanation of his success, 
said, ''Knee work ! knee work ! " David Livingston on 
two occasions preached a sermon of wonderful power. 
At each time five hundred persons were convicted. Both 
sermons were preceded by a whole night spent in prayer. 
C. G. Finney, after spending a whole day in the woods, 
fasting and praying, preached at night to a phenomenally 
irreligious congregation. The sermon was accompanied 
by such divine power, that the whole congregation, except 
onie man, an elder in the church, fell prostrate upon the 
floor, and voiced their agony under conviction in such 
loud outcries that the preacher was forced to stop. — 
Selected, 

How They Conquered. 

William Bramwell, who to this day stands out. as one 
of the most eminent of Methodist evangelists, spent six 
hours a day in secret prayer. Few could imitate him 



66 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

now, but how very few even approach him ! It is said 
of David Stoner, that if all the time could be calculated 
which he spent in this duty, it would amount to no incon- 
siderable portion of his life. Of ** Uncle John Vassar," 
the Tract Society colporter, successful almost beyond 
comparison in his personal dealings with men, his pastor 
says: *' He absolutely prayed day and night — prayed 
about everything, prayed over everything, prayed for 
almost everybody, and prayed with almost ever}'body 
he met. He prayed when he went out and when he 
came in. He prayed before every religious service, and 
then prayed all the way through it. I have occupied 
the same room with him night after night, and rarely 
went to sleep without hearing him at prayer, or awoke 
without finding him at prayer." — Selected. 

Conquered by Prayer. 

The following incident, illustrating the mighty power 
of prayer to overcome revival opposition, is taken from 
the Autobiography of C. G. Finney : — 

Some young men encouraged by influential persons 
in the community ** seemed to stand like a bulwark in 
the way of the work." "We therefore retired to a 
grove and gave ourselves up to prayer until we prevailed, 
and we felt confident that no power which earth or hell 
could interpose, would be allowed permanently to stop 
the revival. On Tuesday morning of the same week, 
the leader of these young men came to me in the 
greatest distress of mind. He was all prepared to 
submit, and as soon as I came to press him, he broke 
down like a child, confessed, and manifestly gave himself 
to Christ. Then he said, 'What shall I do Mr. 



REVIVAL PRAYER. 67 

Finney ? * I replied, Go immediately to all your young 
companions, and pray with them and exhort them at 
once to return to the Lord. He did so ; and before the 
week was out, nearly if not all that class of young men 
were hoping in Christ." 

Power of Family Prayer. 

Not many years since, in south-western Kentucky 
there lived a very estimable Christian lady (the Widow 
Star). Her affections were wooed and won by an 
infidel lawyer. 

Hers had been a very active Christian life, and her 
best friends felt that she was about to make a great 
mistake in wedding one so different in life and character. 
However, they were married ; and the first evening they 
spent together in their home, before retiring, the good 
bride placed her family Bible on the table, and asked her 
husband to conduct the family devotion. He was so 
astonished that he was speechless. He knew that she 
was acquainted with the fact that he was an avowed 
infidel. He had even taken pains to inform her as to his 
peculiar views in regard to the Bible and Christianity. 

After waiting a reasonable length of time for him to 
respond to her request, she opened the Bible and read 
a few verses, and said, " Let us pray." The burden of 
that first prayer with her husband was that God would 
lead him in the way of all truth. He did not kneel with 
her, but quietly retained his seat while she prayed. This 
continued for some time ; no direct opposition, but 
silent indifference. At length she was encouraged to 
greater zeal and earnestness by his kneeling with her ; 
and a short time after he be^an to kneel he was happily 



68 EEVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

converted at the family altar while she was praying. He 
soon felt that he was called to the ministry, and entered 
the Louisville Conference, and was a faithful and effi- 
cient worker to the day of his death. His faithful and 
consecrated wife was ever at his side to comfort and 
assist him in all his labors until God called her to her 
home above. 

He ever praised God for using her to show him the 
way from darkness into light ; and after her decease he 
wrote : — 

" Green be the sod above her, 
Wife of my better days ; 
None knew her but to love her, 
Or named her but to praise." 

— Rev. G. M. Humphrey. 
[N.B. — While the above is a forceful illustration of the 
results which sometimes follow such faithful discharge 
of duty on the part of the wife, yet it should not be 
taken as a warrant to marry unbelievers, and thus trans- 
gress the Scripture, which commands, " Be ye not un- 
equally yoked together with unbelievers."] 

The Revival at Tough Town. 

It came on this wise. Sister Pleader, with two other 
faithful members, had prayed for it for a long time. Mat- 
ters, however, seemed to get worse. Pastor Big Head 
had been sent there for head trouble, and he did not 
believe in revivals and hated evangelists. He belonged 
to a number of secular societies, but even these, in 
Tough Town, would not support him, because of the 
head difficulty mentioned. 

Many thought his heart was affected, as well as his 
head, and that a heart difficulty was at the bottom of 



REVIVAL PRAYER. 69 

all his trouble. Things got in such shape that very few 
would come to hear him read his " weakly " essays, and 
the prayer meeting was abandoned by all but the three- 
mentioned sisters. Even the pastor neglected them, 
because they were attended by none but these three, 
whom he called cranks. 

He became so secular that even the unconverted and 
backslidden members of the church were disgusted, and 
were about to prefer charges against him for inefficiency 
and neglect of the means of grace. His salary was 
clear behind. At this juncture a great revival broke 
out in a neighboring town, and some of the citizens of 
Tough Town went and were converted. They joined 
their prayers with Sister Pleader's, and all felt that they, 
too, must have a revival. 

Brother Big Head by this time was brought so low 
that, in the hope that it would stir the people up so that 
they would do something on his salary, he consented to 
it. 

Sister Pleader continued to pray, and a great revival 
at once began. Pastor Big Head at first was very jeal- 
ous because the evangelist was so successful where he 
had failed, but he soon saw his folly, and humbled him- 
self before God, and was reclaimed. Strange as it may 
seem, his head was perfectly cured ; and ever after, he 
went by the name of Big Heart. He never alludes to 
the revival but that he says it came in answer to Sister 
Pleader's prayers. 

A Luxury to Kneel. 

While engaged in evangelistic work in Central Michi- 
gan, a ministerial friend from a neighboring charge 
attended frequently, aiding as best he could in the work. 



70 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

From that charge I went to his. I had j ust received a 
new and most blessed baptism of the Holy Spirit, and 
the fire soon began to burn. 

The pastor wanted the work to be thorough, and 
sought first of all the fulness of the Spirit's power for 
himself. 

He passed through a severe struggle, but came off 
conqueror in Jesus' name. 

He said afterwards that he felt that Brother Knapp 
had something which he did not, and that he must get 
it. " I did think," said he in public, *' that he kept 
people on their knees too much, but now I've got where 
it is a luxury to be on my knees." 

Heart union with Jesus makes duty a delight. Praise 
God! 

A Stubborn Husband Conquered. 

While holding a revival service on the Montrose 
Charge, Dakota, in the winter of 1886, a man was brought 
under very deep conviction, but was determined not to 
yield. We appointed a prayer meeting at his house ; he 
told his wife that if we came there to pray he would 
drive us out of the house. His wife being a very de- 
voted Christian and a member of the Baptist Church, 
reasoned with him, and said it would be a disgrace to do 
such a thing. Finally, he said he would leave home for a 
week if the Methodists had a prayer meeting at his 
house, and she could get along the best she could with 
the large family of children. We held the prayer meet- 
ing and he, good to his word, left home on Sunday morn- 
ing ; the prayer meeting was held Sunday afternoon. The 
saints all called upon God for his conversion, and Mon- 
day evening, just as we gave an invitation for sinners 



MEVtYAL PttAtHR. 71 

to come to Jesus, he opened the school house door and 
made a rush for the altar. Falling prostrate^ he began to 
call upon God for mercy, and for Christians to pray for 
him. It did not take very long for that hungry soul and 
Jesus to come together, and when peace came, what a 
change ; his neighbors, and even his wife were surprised, 
for he shouted so he could be heard easy one-half mile. 
As he was naturally very quiet and not at all demon- 
strative, some thought those Methodists had made him 
crazy. Well, four years have passed, and he is still 
shouting, and nobody thinks of taking him to the insane 
asylum. Praise God for converting and saving power. — 
O. H. Hareel. 

Praying for a Revival. 

In the town of W., Conn., one hundred and ten years 
ago, there was not a single church, there was not a 
Christian society. The inhabitants numbered four hun- 
dred, scattered over a farming territory. Somehow, 
three women found out that they professed to be Chris- 
tians. A woman advanced in years, lived in the centre 
of the town ; a woman in middle life lived three miles 
away ; and another, a young woman, lived three miles 
the other way. 

They had moved into the town at different times, and 
had found out that they were Orthodox Christians, mem- 
bers of the church. The old lady said to herself : " I 
have not long to live ; have I done my duty .^ My hus- 
band and family know that I have been faithful, but 
have I done my duty to the rest .? " She invited the 
others to come to her house, and they came and prayed 
about it, and talked about it, and finally decided to meet 



72 HE VITAL KINDLINGS. 

the next Thursday afternoon at one o'clock, at the 
school house, and have a meeting. The old lady said 
to the young woman, "You can sing ; Will you sing ? " 
"1 will" She said to the middle-aged woman, ''You 
can read ; Will you read a few chapters from the Bible ? " 
"I will/' The old lady said, "I will pray.'^ So they 
came, one three miles from the east ; another three 
milei^ from the west. The young lady sang, and the 
middle-aged lady read, and the old lady prayed. A man 
going by with a load of wood, seeing the door open, 
thought to close it. He went up to the door, and heard 
the old lady praying. It was a new revelation to him. 
He listened till she said, "Amen." Then she asked, 
" Shall we come again .? '* " Yes, let us come next 
Thursday, at one o'clock." He got on his load, and told 
everybody he saw. The next Thursday, at one o'clock, 
the three women arrived there, and found the house full. 
They found three chairs provided for them. They went 
in. The young woman said, " I am too diffident to sing 
before all these people." The old one said, "You must 
sing." The other woman said, " I cannot read before 
all this company." The old woman said, " You must 
read." So the young woman sang, and the other woman 
read, and the old woman prayed ; and there was sobbing 
all over the house. In a few days they sent for a minis- 
ter. There stands to-day, where that school house 
stood, a little white church. I have preached in it — the 
result of the revival prayed for by those three women. 
They not only prayed in their hearts at home, but they 
came together and prayed ; " Lord, wilt thou not revive 
us again, that thy ])eople may rejoice in thee.'*" — Zi.ni's 
Herald. 



hevival prayeh. 73 

A Sister's Prayer Prevails. 

In December, 1889, where I was holding revival 
meetings in Pike Co., Ill, one night when many were 
coming to the altar, a girl who had been converted a 
few nights before, was seen weeping in her seat. 

An inquirer found that she was crying because her 
sister would not go to the altar. She was told to, "Just 
kneel down and pray for her," and with heart overflow- 
ing with love, she knelt by her side, and soon the dear 
one broke down and went to the altar where she found 
peace to her soul. Surely her example is well worth 
following. — W. T. Carley. 

Prayer Defeated by Wrong Motives. 

I was the guest at the place of a Mr. B , one 

of the elders of the church, and the most intimate and 
influential friend of the minister. One day as I came 
down from my room, and was going out to call on some 

inquirers, I met Mr. B in the hall; and he said 

to me, ** Mr. Finney, what should you think of a man 
that was praying week after week for the Holy Spirit, 
and could get no answer .-* " I replied that I should think 
he was praying from false motives. " But from what 
motives," said he, '' should a man pray ; if he wants to be 
happy, is that a false motive } " I replied, " Satan might 
pray with as good a motive as that ;" and then quoted 
the words of the Psalmist : " Uphold me with thy free 
spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways, and 
sinners shall be converted unto Thee." "See ! " said I, 
"the Psalmist did not pray for the Holy Spirit that he 
might be happy, but that he might be useful, and that 
sinners might be converted to Christ." I said this and 



74 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

turned and went immediately out ; and he turned very- 
short and went back to his room. I remained out till 
dinner time; and when I returned, he met me, and 
immediately began to confess. *' Mr. Finney," said he, 
" I owe you a confession. I was angry when you said 
that to me, and I must confess, that I hoped I should 
never see you again. What you said," he continued, 
"forced the conviction upon me, that 1 never had been 
converted, that I never had had any higher motive than 
a mere selfish desire for my own happiness. I went 
away" said he, "after you left the house, and prayed to 
God to take my life ; I could not endure to have it known 
that I had always been deceived. I have always been 
most intimate with our minister. I have journeyed with 
him, and slept with him, and conversed with him, and 
have been more intimate with him than any other mem- 
ber of the church ; and yet I saw that I had always 
been a deceived hypocrite. The mortification was intol- 
erable; and," said he, " I wanted to die, and prayed the 
Lord to take my life." However he was all broken 
down then, and from that time became a new man. — 
Finney s Biography. 

How an Elder Suspended a Revival. 

When I was laboring with Bro. Patterson I recollect 
that, for two or three days, at one time, there seemed to 
be something in the way. The work seemed to be in a 
measure suspended ; and I began to feel alarmed lest 
something had grieved the Holy Spirit. One evening 
at prayer meeting, while this state of things was becom- 
ing manifest, an elder arose and made a confession. He 
said, "Brethren, the Spirit of God has been grieved, 



REVIVAL PRAYER. 75 

and I have grieved Him. I have been in the habit," 

said he, "of praying for Bro. Patterson, and for the 

preaching, on Saturday night, until midnight. This has 

been my habit for many years, — to spend Saturday night, 

till midnight, in imploring the blessing of God upon 

the labors of the Sabbath. Last Saturday night," he 

continued, " I was fatigued, and omitted it. I thought 

the work was going on so pleasantly and so powerfully, 

that I might indulge myself, and go to bed without 

looking to God for a blessing on the labors of the 

Sabbath. On the Sabbath," said he, " I was impressed 

with the conviction that I had grieved the Spirit ; and 

I saw that there was not the usual manifestation of the 

influence of the Spirit upon the congregation. I have 

felt convicted ever since ; and have felt that it was my 

duty to make this public confession. I do not know," 

said he, " who beside myself has grieved the Spirit of 

God; but I am sure that I have done so." — Finney s 

Memoirs. 

"Victory on Death." 

The following incident from the life of Mrs. Maggie 
Vancott, that princess among women evangelists, copied 
from The Harvest and Reaper, shows the power of 
prevailing prayer. 

Another Sabbath passed; but the hard and flinty 
hearts were not yet melted, and she felt her strength of 
body giving way under the continued mental anguish. 
On the following Monday morning, after family prayers, 
she remarked : — 

" Sister Palmer, I am going in the parlor to settle this 
church matter with the dear Master. Please do not 
allow any one to come near me. If I do not come out 



76 hevival kindlings. 

in time for dinner, do hot call me. If I am not with 
you in time for the afternoon meeting you may call in 
the friends. I shall, in the name of God, have victory 
or death." 

It was a bitter cold day in February, and no fire had 
been kindled in that room all winter, and the frost was 
thick on the window-panes. She wrapped a large shawl 
around her and bowed before God, and presented the 
promises covered with the blood of the Saviour, and in 
them there could be no failure. "Ask and ye shall 
receive," stood before her as characters of living fire. 
Also, " If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, 
ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto 
you." ** And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that 
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." 
"If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." It 
was the same voice that awoke slumbering chaos, and 
new-made worlds teemed with life glorious and grand. 
An hour passed, — another followed, — she had grappled 
in with God's Word, and, in the anguish of her spirit, 
as she afterward declared, she could, in a certain degree 
understand the Scripture, where it describes the Mas- 
ter's agony in the garden, when he sweat great drops of 
blood. In those hours of the most intense struggle of 
spirit, the great drops of sweat rolled from her brow. 
The tempter suggested, " Give it up ; God will not give 
the answer to-day." "Then to-day on this spot, I die," 
was her answer. The agony increased — the prayer 
became a struggle as for life. " I will not let thee go. 
Thy word is truth. Thou hast said, * Now is the time.' 
O God, now send the answer; itow, my Father, hear 
me, for the sake of souls — for the tivo hundred ; Christ 



REVIVAL PRAYER. 11 

has paid the price of their redemption. I plead His 
merits — I will not yield — I will not move — I will 
not let go my hold — Thou canst not turn me away. 
Behold, Thine own dear Son pleads — the Spirit inter- 
cedes. Give, O give the answer." A sweet zephyr of 
peace floated over her soul, and soon shouts of rapture 
flooded her spirit. She arose, left the room, and found 
the family awaiting her coming for dinner. 

Brother Palmer said, "Where have you been V* 
" Glory to God ! I have been in * the secret place of 
the Most High,' " she replied. 

" I should think you had, for your face shines.'* 
" Not half so brightly as my soul shines ; bless the 
Lord ! And as He liveth, two hundred souls are con- 
verted. The answer has been given ; I feel, and know 
it" 

That night God honored the Word spoken; and 
when the invitations were given, twenty-five persons 
bowed at the altar of prayer. The church was aroused 
at the sight, and, though heretofore weak in faith, it 
now came up nobly to the work. In less then five 
weeks from that time, two hundred and thirty-five souls 
professed faith in Christ. One hundred and fifty-four, 
united with the society here, and others found homes 
elsewhere. 

Prayer Mightier than Revival Opposition. 

One Friday afternoon, before presbytery adjourned, 
a clergyman arose and made a violent speech against 
the revival, as it was going on. What he said 
greatly shocked and grieved the Christian people who 
were present. They felt like falling on their faces before 



78 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

God, and crying to him to prevent what he had said 
from doing any mischief. The presbytery adjourned just 
at evening. Some of the members went home, and 
others remained over night. Christians gave themselves 
to prayer. There was a great crying to God that night, 
that He would counteract any evil influence that might 
result from that speech. The next morning this man 
was found dead in his bed. — Finney s Biography, 

The Way the Primitive Church Treated Revival Opposition. 

"Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth 
his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed 
James the brother of John with the sword. And because 
he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take 
Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) 
And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, 
and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep 
him ; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the 
people. 

** Peter therefore was kept in prison but prayer was 
made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. 

"And when Herod would have brought him forth, the 
same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, 
bound with two chains : and the keepers before the door, 
kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord 
came upon him, and a light shined in the prison : and 
he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying 
Arise up quickly. And his chains fell from off his hands. 

"And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre 
and Sidon : but they came with one accord to him, and, 
having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, 
desired peace ; because their country was nourished by 



REVIVAL PRAYER. 79 

the king's country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed 
in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an 
oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, say- 
ing, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. 

" And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, 
because he gave not God the glory : and he was eaten 
of worms, and gave up the ghost. 

** But the word of God grew and multiplied." 

Taken at Their Word. — At the beginning of what 
proved to be the great revival at Liberty, Mich., under 
Rev. William Mosher, some skeptics told him that if they 
felt conviction on the subject they would think there was 
something in religion. He wisely refrained from arguing 
with them, but said, *' If that is what you want you shall 
have it," and abruptly left them. Hurrying to his place 
of prayer, he pleaded for the Holy Spirit to do His office 
work. Prayer prevailed, and these men were soon in a 
tidal wave of convictive power, which swept away all 
their doubts and excuses, and continued to increase until 
they yielded all to God, and were happily converted. 

Moral : God, through the Holy Spirit, in answer to 
the prayer of faith, will convict the most obdurate. 

Mother Dobson's Prayer. — What moved me more 
than anything else was Mother Dobson's prayer. She 
prayed that sinners might have no peace until they 
were converted. I went home and tried to sleep, but 
could not. I rolled and tumbled, and finally told wife 
that I guessed Mother Dobson's prayer was being 
answered. The next night it was just the same. Then 
I made up my mind I would go forward. I did so, but 
did not fully yield the first tim.e. After a few days I 



80 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

did, and then put up my family altar and was made 
conscious that my sins were all forgiven. — Class Leader^ 
Liberty y Mich. 

Down upon Your Knees. — I wish I had the power 
to reach every Methodist on the round earth. I would 
say, ** Cease living on the heroism of your fathers; quit 
glorying in numbers, sacrificing to statistics, and burn- 
ing incense to the General Minutes; down upon your 
knees, and seek and find yourself the secret of the power 
of the fathers, — a clean heart and the endowment of 
power from on high ; and then arise and unfurl the ban- 
ner of salvation free and full, and a common sense 
theology." — Rev. Daniel Steele, D.D. 

Prayer for Pastor. — It was once the custom at 
every household altar to pray, definitely and fervently, 
for the pastor. Is the custom going out .? Do we hear 
the heart-warm petition offered for the minister, that 
his work may be blessed, his hands strengthened, his 
endeavors abundantly prospered } If not, we who love 
our Church do not love as we ought those who are its 
ordained priests. In the delicate duties of his office 
your pastor should be sustained by your prayers. — Dr. 
Roland. 

The Secret Out. — Mr. Harrison was once asked in 
the rriidst of one of the great victories God was giving, 
" How do you account for such a wonderful work .'* " — 
"I do not account for it at all ; it is the work of God." 
— *' You must do a great deal of fasting and praying to 
obtain much power." — " Ah ! there you have it ; that is 
the secret," was the answer. — The Boy Preacher. 



REVIVAL PRAYER. 81 

Finney's Experience. — In regard to my own experi- 
ence I will say that unless I had the spirit of prayer I 
could do nothing. If even for a day or hour I lost 
the spirit of grace and supplication, I found myself 
unable to preach with power and efficiency, or to win 
souls by personal conversation. 

A Revival Proposition. — '*If m.y people, which are 
called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, 
and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways ; 
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, 
and will heal their land " (2 Chron. 7 : 14). 



SECTION VI. 

REVIVAL WORKERS. 
" Workers together with him." 

How to Help the Revival. 

Pray for it and for special individuals. Pray persist- 
ently. Talk about the revival, noting particularly the 
encouraging tokens. 

Be right, both with God and your neighbors. 

Talk with people about preparation for life, death, 
judgment, and eternity. Tell them your experience. 
Pray with them. Urge them to immediate decision. 
Never dispute with them. 

Get them to come with you to the public meetings. 

If you are in the country, come with the big wagon 
and bring a load. When there, invite them to come 
with you to the altar. Invite persistently. 

I heard of a man who asked a person for a church 
subscription, but was flatly refused the first time. He 
went again and again, and on the fifth application re- 
ceived one hundred dollars. Let the same persistence 
appear in soul-saving work. 

Remember that personal persuasion is one of the 
mightiest agencies which the Spirit uses to convigt and 
convert men. 



REVIVAL WORKERS. 83 

Revival Hindrances. 

Professors of religion greatly hinder a revival and 
sometimes stop it by doing the following things : — 

Neglecting to pray for it. 

Declining to do personal work with the unconverted. 

Unsteady attendance at the public revival services. 

Engaging in acts, tempers, or amusements which are 
contrary to the teaching of the Word, and inconsistent 
in true Christians. 

Criticising the methods of those conducting it. 

Siding with the unsaved in their opposition to it. 

Complaining of the plain preaching. 

Taking the wrong side of the temperance or other 
great moral questions. 

By neglecting to get the baptism of the Holy Spirit, 
and by not being led by Him. 

Any professing Christian who does any of these 
things, actually, though perhaps not intentionally, pleases 
Satan, grieves the Spirit, and hinders a revival. 

Such an one is like a broken rail on a railroad, or a 
defective wheel in a watch, and must be mended or 
removed, or great harm may result. 

Revival Work First 

When God summons a church to engage in special 
revival work, from pastor to humblest layman that work 
should be placed first. 

It is so when a general summons his soldiers to a 
decisive battle ; and at such a time all minor matters 
must be, as far as possible, laid aside. Study to econo- 
mize time. Get plain meals — soldiers often live on 
hard-tack ; and the same principle applied to revival 



84 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

work will save hours. Avoid all needless visiting on 
worldly themes. Postpone other gatherings and meet- 
ings until after the battle is won. Lectures, society 
meetings, temperance gatherings, all right at the proper 
time, should give way when revival begins. We have 
known revivals to be greatly hindered by members leav- 
ing the meeting to attend to other gatherings which 
were not aiming directly for the salvation of souls. 
Ministers sometimes make this mistake to the injury 
of the revival. ** Let the decks be cleared for action " 
should be the order at the start, and then each should 
vie with the other in keeping them cleared. 

Jesus puts revival work first, the Spirit puts it 
first, and the church, to succeed, must put it first. 
Be ''filled with the Spirit" and ''led by the Spirit," and 
it will be your joy to do this, and verily your reward 
will be great. 

"Drifting with the Tide/' 

It seems that Satan has succeeded in blinding the 
eyes of many to the fact that " popularity " is not neces- 
sarily prosperity. He who is popular with the world 
cannot at the same time please God, any more than a 
general could at the same time be popular with the 
enemies of his country and true to its best interests. 
A "popular preacher" is sometimes only another name 
for a "man-pleasing preacher." 

Popularity, in the sense that the word is often used, 
means "drifting with the tide." Jesus was not popular 
in the sense of the term under consideration, and 
warned of the danger of it when he said, " How can ye 
believe, which receive honor one of another .? " Dryden 
says, " A popular man is, in truth, no better than 



REVIVAL WORKERS. 85 

a prostitute to common fame and to the people " ; and a 
greater than Dryden has said, **Woe unto you, when all 
men shall speak well of you ! " 

Fishers of Men. 

Do you still look back longingly to your "nets " ? Do 
you wonder how you are to be provided for ? Do you 
fear to take your staff, and nothing with you or before 
you but divine guidance, protection and provision ? 
Imitate the disciples. " Straightway they forsook their 
nets, and followed him." Hence arose the primitive 
church. Here began the preaching of the gospel of 
the grace of God. Here was inaugurated that system 
of soul-saving that has filled the church on earth, and 
will crowd the church in heaven with redeemed men. 

" Come ye after me, and I will make you to become 
fishers of men." Have you dropped the net } Are you 
now coming.^ Will you keep close to His loving heart ? 
You shall be a fisher of men. — Christian Standard. 

Just in Time. 

The other Sabbath I was more than ever impressed 
with the importance of urging an immediate surrender 
at each service. I was dealing with two men in the back 
of the tent ; they were under deep conviction. I urged 
them to accept Christ, but they said, " Not now." They 
finally gave me their word that they would make a start 
in the afternoon. I left them and went to the altar, 
but was impressed that it was their last chance. I 
went back to them, and finally persuaded them to come 
to the altar. They were soon rejoicing in the knowl- 
edge of sins forgiven. One of them had just reached 



86 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

home when he was taken very sick. The doctor was 
called. His case was pronounced dangerous, but he 
looked into eternity happy in the love of Christ. We 
never know but what we are talking to sinners for the 
last time. — G. D. Cardinal. 

''Over-Urging." 

There are few things that Satan dreads more than to 
have saved people persistently and personally urge 
others to forsake their sins and yield at once to Christ. 
Hence he is ever stirring up the unconverted, and those 
who are universal in God's way of dealing with souls, 
against urgent personal warning and invitation. Under 
his influence the unconverted sometimes say, "If you 
would let me alone I might yield, but now, never." 
This is always a ruse of the enemy. This class of peo- 
ple would always have some other excuse if they had 
not this one. Where one is harmed by injudicious 
over-urging, probably a thousand are jeopardized by neg- 
lect. " If thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from 
his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but 
his blood will I require at thine hand" (Ezek. 33 : 8). 

''Dismissed." 

The following suggestive incident is from Finney's 
"Revival Lectures." "I knew a minister who had a 
young man laboring with him in a revival. The young 
man preached pretty plain, and the wicked did not like 
him. They said, *We like ^z/r minister, and we like to 
have him preach.' They finally said so much that the 
minister told the young man, *Mr. S., that gives so much 
towards my support, says so and so. Mr. A. says so. 



REVIVAL WORKERS. 87 

Mr. B. says so. They think that it will break up the 
society if you continue to preach, and I think you had 
better not preach any more.' The young man went 
away, but the Spirit of God immediately withdrew from 
the place and the revival stopped short. The minister, 
by yielding to the wicked desires of the people, drove 
him away. He was afraid the evil would drive him 
away from his people, and by undertaking to satisfy the 
devil, he offended God. And God so ordered events 
that in a short time he had to leave his people after all. 
He undertook to go between the devil and God, and 
God dismissed him." 

Sound ihe Alarm. 

The following, from the pen of Mrs. Booth, should 
startle all who are slumbering the fatal sleep of relig- 
ious indifference. She says : — 

"They do not recognize the fact as they ought that 
Satan has got men fast asleep in sin and that it is his 
great device to keep them so. He does not care what 
we do if he can do that. We may sing songs about 
*the sweet by and by,' preach sermons, and say prayers, 
and go the jog-trot round and round, barrel-organ 
fashion, till doomsday, and he will never concern him- 
self about us if we don't wake anybody up ; but if we 
wake anybody, he will gnash on us with his teeth. 
This is our work — to wake people up. That is your 
responsibility, you Christians. If that man with whom 
you are coming in contact dies, and is damned in his 
sleep, and you never went the common-sense, reason- 
able way to wake him, God will demand his soul of 
you. Wake him ! Wake him I Remember, sinners 
are indifferent." 



88 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Adaptation. 

Much of revival success lies in the skill to produce 
just the right truth at the right time, in the right way, 
to the right persons. While nothing but the truth 
should ever be spoken, there are persons who are not 
prepared to receive certain truths, and times when it is 
not wise to proclaim them. 

Jesus recognized this principle when He said to His 
disciples, "I have yet many things to say unto you, 
but ye cannot bear them now.'\ 

There are few persons who cannot be reached by the 
gospel if just the right cords in their being are struck. 
Wisdom to do this can be gained only from God. 

" Fairly sought, some point of contact 
There must be with every mind ; 
And, perchance, the closest compact 
Where we least expect to find. 

" Dialects of love are many, 

Though the language be but one ; 
Study all you can, or any, 

While life's precious school hours run. 

'* Closed the heart-door of thy brother, 
All its treasure long concealed ? 
One key fails, then try another, — 
Soon the rusty lock shall yield." 

He/p in Time of Need. 

I had received an invitation to assist the pastor of a 
large church in conducting a revival. Like Moses, I 
trembled and said, "Who am I, that I should go.?" 
In my weakness I went to God in earnest prayer. As 
I knelt I saw, lying on the bench before me, a card. 



REVIVAL WORKEHS. 89 

dropped, probably, by a Sunday school scholar, bearing 
the following words : " Fear thou not ; for I am with 
thee : be not dismayed ; for I am thy God : I will 
strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will 
uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness " 
(Isa. 41 : 10). 

Do you say, "only a strange coincidence"? May be 
it was, but I knew that I was strengthened and helped. 
Without a fear or tremor I went to my appointed field, 
and multitudes were saved, "Lo, I am with you," is 
the promise. — Rev. W. L. Barth. 

Woman, " Take Thou Auihoriiy to Preach the Gospel." 

The following, from the pen of the author of "Vic- 
tory", who uses "exclusively the original tongues in 
studying Scripture," indicates something of the strength 
of the Bible argum.ent favoring woman's work in pro- 
claiming the gospel of Jesus: — 

"Rom. 16: I, where Phebe is called a servant of the 
Church, the Greek says she was a deacon ; i.e., an ordained 
minister of the gospel. The New Testament as well 
as the Old plainly reveals that women preached the 
gospel side by side with apostles and prophets. Ps. 
62>: II, Revised Version, 'God giveth the word, and 
the women who publish it are a great host.' The 
Hebrew, *an army of women,' is a plain allusion to the 
Salvation Army and other grand uprisings of holy 
women going forth preaching the gospel. In this 
passage an everlasting stigma rests upon the escutch- 
eon of King James' translators for concealing the fem- 
inine gender, which is actually unmistakable ; oth being 
the Hebrew feminine termination, basaroth in the 



90 REVIVAL MJ^DLtNGS. 

Hebrew positively and unequivocally meaning preach- 
ing women. Glory to God for this prophetic vision of 
hosts and armies of women going forth preaching the 
gospel to all nations ! The fulfilment of this vision is 
to bring the millennium." 

A Word Fitly Spoken. 

In 1874 I went to Nashville, Tenn.; to witness the 
laying of the corner-stone of the Vanderbilt Univer- 
sity. I was sent to the Bottle House for entertain- 
ment. Although it was the last of April, the weather 
was cold, and many were gathered around the stove 
in the reception room. A young man came in, 
evidently of a good family, and intelligent, educated, 
and witty, but greatly under the influence of the soul- 
destroying rum. He began to make sport for the com- 
pany, addressing first this one and then that, trying to 
turn every short conversation into a laughter. 

He seemed to be taking the round, talking to every 
one. The thought occurred to my mind. What shall I 
do if he comes to me .? The first impulse was to tell him 
to go away ; that I did not want to be troubled by a 
drunken man. Then the Spirit said, "Speak kindly." 
Just at this moment a chair by my side was vacated, and 
the young man reeled into it and began to talk to me. I 
laid my hand upon his shoulder and said, "Have you a 
mother.!*" At the name of mother the wild, rollicksome 
inebriate l)ecame as quiet as a lamb. 

He said, " No, I have no mother ; my mother is dead." 

" Was your mother a praying mother .? " I asked. 

"Yes, she has prayed forme a thousand times," he 
replied. 



REVIVAL WORKERS. ^1 

"Why do you trample upon her prayers, and throw 
yourself away in this way as soon as she is gone? 
Promise me that you will never touch another drop of 
that that will intoxicate." 

"I cannot promise," was his sad reply. 

" Why, for the sake of your praying mother and 
your own soul can you not promise me never to drink 
again.!*" 

"No, I have promised so often that I would quit, and 
have broken my promises, that I will not vow again." 

While he made this answer, the tears rolled down 
his cheeks, and he trembled like a leaf. 

Just then the gong sounded for supper, and I left 
the young man to his thoughts. 

He did not go in to supper, but lingered until I 
returned. When I came out he took me by the hand 
and said with great emotion, "You are a stranger to 
me, but I want to thank you for your kindness " ; and 
turning, he hastily left the room. 

When I retired that night I felt so thankful that I 
had spoken so kindly to the poor unfortunate young 
man. 

" A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures 
of silver." — C. M. Humphrey. 

The Little Preacher and the Rich Sinner. 

In my early ministry a duty presented itself of call- 
ing on a godless man of great wealth and high social 
position and conversing with him in regard to his soul 
and eternity. 

I went twice for this purpose, but he was gone. The 
third time he was at home and received me very 



^2 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

kindly, conversing very freely. He listened to my words 
of warning and entreaty, kneeled with me in prayer, 
but would not yield to Christ. 

In his dying hours, however, he called on God for 
mercy, and said there were two ministers in whom he 
had confidence. One was Rev. — , and the other was 
the little preacher who had courage to call and pray 
with him. 

Surely when Jesus sends "his sheep forth," He 
"goes before them," and then cares for the seed which 
they have sown. 

A Willing Sacrifice. 

Some years ago a minister was called to see a little 
girl seven years old, who was dying. She lived in a 
back street. When the minister got there a woman 
showed him where the child was, and he sat down and 
talked with her. 

"What do you want, darling.? " 

"Well, sir, I wanted to see you before I died." 

"Are you dying.?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Would you not like to get well again .?" 

"I hope not, sir." 

"Why not.?" 

" O sir, ever since I became a Christian I have been 
trying to bring father to church, and he won't come; 
and I think if I die you will bury me, won't you.?" 

"Yes, darling." 

"Well, I have been thinking if I die father must 
come to my funeral ; then you will be able to preach 
the gospel to him, and I should be willing to die six 
times over for him to hear the gospel once." 



REVIVAL WORKERS. 93 

She died, as she had expected, and just before the 
time she was to be buried the minister was himself 
taken sick and could not attend the funeral. But some 
time afterward a rough-looking man called upon him 
and held out his hand. 

"You don't know me .?" 

" No, I don't." 

" I am the father of Mary, — the father she died for. 
I heard as how she said she would die for me six times 
if I could only hear the gospel once. It nearly broke 
my heart. Now I want to join the inquirers' class." 

He did join, and became a true friend of Christ. 
That little girl was truly walking in the footsteps of 
Jesus, because she was willing to die, even, in order that 
her father might be saved from his sins. If we do not 
need to die for others, we should at least try to be like 
Jesus in living for them and in doing all that we can to 
lead them to be Christians. — Sunday School Times. 

Pounding in the Dark. 

Long openings of meetings, long prayers, and long 
testimonies and long sermons, are unerring indications 
of a lack of the Holy Spirit. It does not take long to 
start an engine when the steam is up ; one stroke of a 
pump in constant use will bring water. So it does 
not take a long time for one who is filled with the 
Spirit to get things moving in the congregation. It 
was a short sermon which Peter preached when ** the 
Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word" 
(Acts lo : 44). It was a short prayer he made when 
Jesus, stretching out His hand, took him safely across 
the yielding waters to the ship. Pray more in secret, 



94 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

and you will not need to pray so long in public. A 
man may pound in the dark without hitting a nail, and 
when he does hit it, he is more likely to spoil it than 
he is to drive it ; but he who works in the light can, 
with a stroke or two, drive the nail in a sure place. 
Go to the people from directly communing with God, 
and then you can speak short and to the point and with 
power. — Selected, 

Convicted on the Street. 

Under the wise leadership of Evangelist William 
Barth, we held a street service prior to the evening 
meeting last Sunday, at Litchfield. A number of prayers 
were offered, and short addresses made. A crowd 
gathered, and, as usual on such occasions, gave most 
respectful attention. Presiding Elder Wightman, in 
true Methodist style, had endorsed the proposed meet- 
ing at the morning service, and the pastor, Bro. Pad- 
dock, gave it his support, and many of the members 
were present. The large tent to which we passed 
from the street was crowded, and a solemn hush of con- 
viction was upon the great congregation. At the close 
of a short address by the writer, and an earnest ap- 
peal by Bro. Barth, four persons yielded to God, and 
gave evidence of conversion. Two of these were young 
ladies who, after coming forward and passing through 
a severe struggle at the altar, professed faith in Christ. 
One of them afterwards said that she had no idea of 
yielding when she started for the meeting, but was 
brought under deep conviction at the out-door meeting. 
What soul trophies might be won for Christ if His 
professed followers would heed His command, and "go 



REVIVAL WORKERS. 95 

out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to 
come in " ! 

Beloved, the King has commanded this, and when 
the Spirit so leads, we must do it or be guilty of the 
blood of souls. We canjiot leave it to the Salvation 
Army. If we do, the Master's *' well done " will be 
theirs, his censure, ours. To feel above such work 
is to feel above what Jesus, the apostles, Wesley, and 
kindred spirits found delight in doing. 

Oh for an abiding baptism of the Spirit upon all of 
God's people, that would take away all the starch and 
stiffness and spurious ideas of dignity, and fit them to 
follow gladly wherever Christ commands and the Holy 
Spirit leads ! 

Minisfer Murderers. 

A minister, some years since, was laboring where 
there was a revival, and was visited by an elder of a 
church at some distance who wanted him to go and 
preach there. There was no revival there, and never 
had been, and the elder complained about their state, — 
said they had had two excellent ministers : one had worn 
himself completely out and died, and the other had 
exhausted himself and got discouraged and left them, 
and they were a poor and feeble church and their pros- 
pects very dark unless they could have a revival ; and so 
he begged this minister to go and help them. He seemed 
to be very sorrowful, and the minister heard his whining, 
and at last replied by asking, *' Why did you never have 
a revival > '* " I don't know," said the elder. *' Our min- 
ister labored hard, but the church did not seem to wake 
up, and somehow there seemed to be no revival." " Well, 
now," said the minister, " I see what you want ; you 



96 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

have killed one of God's ministers, and broken down an- 
other so that he had to leave you, and now you want to 
get another there and kill him, and the devil has sent you 
here to get me to go and rock your cradle for you. You 
had one good minister to preach to you, but you slept 
on, and he exerted himself till he absolutely died in the 
work. Then the Lord let you have another, and still 
you lay and slept, and would not wake up to your duty. 
And now you have come here in despair, and want 
another minister, do you .<* God forbid that you should 
ever have another while you do as you have done ! God 
forbid that you should ever have a minister till the 
church will wake up to duty." The elder was affected, 
for he was a good man. The tears came in his eyes, and 
he said it was no more than they deserved. " And 
now," said the minister, "will you be faithful, and go 
home and tell the church what I say ? If you will, and 
they will be faithful and wake up to duty, they shall 
have a minister, I will warrant them that." The elder 
said he would, and he was true to his word ; he went 
home and told the church how cruel it was for them to 
ask another minister to come among them, unless they 
would wake up. They felt it, and confessed their sins, 
and waked up to duty, and a minister was sent there, 
and a precious and powerful revival followed. — Finney s 
Revival Lectures. 

How an Invalid helped start a Revival. 
A pure-minded invalid sister was exceedingly anxious 
for the salvation of her wicked brothers. She invited 
them around her dying bed, and besought them to come 
to Christ for salvation. One of them was deeply affected, 
and in a few days he sent a letter to the ringleader of 



REVIVAL WORKERS. 97 

the company of wicked men he mingled with, asking for 
a private interview. The letter was answered in person ; 
and after inquiring as to the great secret for which he 
sent for him, he was surprised to find that he was sent 
for because his friend was in earnest for the salvation of 
his soul, but did not want to go forward for prayer with- 
out having his companions go with him. After hearing 
his simple story he said to his friend, " I am glad for 
you. I hope you will go on with your good purpose. I 
do not know what I shall do ; but we will write letters 
of invitation, and have a meeting in my parlor." The 
letters were sent, and some fifteen wicked men met to 
decide what they would do in relation to the salvation of 
their souls ; not a Christian among them. But they 
had told a Christian man to be ready if they should call 
for his help. They discussed this great subject till 
nine o'clock at night. 

There was a noted drunkard among them, who had 
made his home more like hell than heaven. He arose 
and said, " Boys, you all know me, and you know what a 
wicked man I have been, and how miserable I have made 
my family. I have decided that it is time for me to 
change my course of life. I am going to the Union 
Square Church, and am going forward for prayers, if I 
have got to alone." 

This settled the matter with eight more, and they all, 
nine, went to the church to seek salvation. The pastor 
had expected them all the evening, and met them at the 
door of the church, and made a way for them to go to 
the altar. They pursued their way through the crowd, 
and cried mightily to God for mercy, and found salva- 
tion, — The Bo^ Preacher, 



98 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Why She ''Couldn't/' 

A lady once besought Mr. Moody to pray for her 
unconverted husband and try to lead him to Christ. 

"How long have you been married.?" asked Mr. 
Moody." 

"Twenty years," she replied. 

"What have you done to bring him to the Lord 
yourself ? " 

"I have talked to him, I have prayed for him. I 
have tried to get him to join the church." 

" And you have been his wife for twenty years } " 

"Yes, sir." 

"There must be something wrong somewhere," said 
the evangelist, shaking his head. " You ought to have 
got him to the Lord before this time. Have you 
always lived like a Christian before him > " 

"I'm afraid not always." 

" Have you ever got out of humor with him, and said 
spiteful things > " 

"Yes, very often." 

" And what did you do then ? Did you apologize, 
and tell him you were sorry for it .? " 

"Oh, no ; I never did that. I couldn't." 

" Well, then, right there is where the trouble is. It 
is not your husband that I ought to pray for, but your- 
self. When your heart once gets right and makes your 
life right, it won't be long before God will get into the 
heart of your husband." 

And it wasn't long afterward until the prediction was 
fulfilled. The heart of the wife became full to over- 
flowing with the love of God, and her husband wa§ 
soon after converted. — Rev. E. P. Brown, 



REVIVAL WORKERS. 99 

Faithfulness Rewarded. 

Some years ago, during a revival meeting at Coners- 
ville, Ind., a very timid lady felt moved to go and 
speak to a couple of young men whom she saw in the 
back part of the church. It was a great cross to her to 
do it, but in the name of Him who had worn the crown 
of thorns for her, she arose and started. When she came 
to them, and began to talk about Jesus, they burst 
out laughing in her face. Utterly crushed and humili- 
ated to the lowest degree, she went back to her seat 
and sat down in sorrow. She felt that her mission had 
failed, and almost resolved that she would never again 
speak to anybody about salvation. It happened that 
those two young men were room-mates. In the small 
hours of the night, one of them heard the other 
sobbing. 

" What's the matter, Ed ? Are you sick ? " he asked. 

"No, but I despise myself for the way I insulted that 
dear old lady. It was a dreadful hard thing for her to 
come to us as she did, but she wanted, to do us good; 
and to think that I was mean enough to laugh in her 
face makes me hate myself. I never would have 
believed that I could have been so mean. If anybody 
should insult my mother in that way I should thrash 
him if it was the last thing I ever did." 

"That's just my case exactly," responded the first 
speaker. " My heart looks blacker to me than it ever 
did before. I begin to wish I was a Christian." 

It wasn't long until those boys crawled out of bed 
and began to hold a prayer meeting. The result was 
that they were both converted before morning, and they 
have remained that way ever since, They hav^ both 



100 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

been valiant workers for God from that day to this, and 
have done great good in His service. The timid little 
woman, who was laughed at that evening for Christ's 
sake, was made almost too happy to live the next day 
when the joyful tidings came to her. — Elijah T. Brown. 

Hints to Local Workers. 

Advise much, if you can, with your pastor. 

Keep very humble. " For even the Son of man came 
not, to be ministered unto, but to minister." 

Urge all whom you can influence to be present at 
the regular church services. 

Always begin services at the appointed time, to the 
second. We have begun that way with but two or 
three present, held service, and dismissed, and gone 
home before the regular congregation came. They 
were on hand the next time. **As vinegar to the 
teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard " to 
him that waits for him. 

Vary your services. Keep out of ruts. Always 
have prayer and the Word ; and sometimes begin with 
prayer, and again with song, and perhaps again with 
testimony, as the Lord may lead. 

Frequently press salvation, — pardon for the sinner, 
and complete cleansing and endowment of power for the 
believer, — and urge meeting the conditions upon which 
these are offered at once. 

Keep as sweet as John, and at the same time as bold 
as Peter after the Pentecostal baptisrti. 

Let your character combine the innocence and 
meekness of the Lamb of God, and, at the same time, 
the aggressive fearlessness of th^ Lion of Judah. 



HEVIVAL WORKERS. 101 

Endeavor every day to speak to some one about 
eternal things. 

Attend all the meetings of the church, and cheerfully 
and promptly discharge every duty. 

If possible be on time at every service. To come in 
late or to linger in taking part is to be like a gun that 
** hangs fire." 

Should you do anything wrong confess and forsake 
it. 

Be persistent in your personal efforts with the 
unsaved. *'Win and warn " until the will walls 
crumble. 

Don't get discouraged if it takes months or even 
years. Remember how it was with yourself. 

" Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every 
thing give thanks." 

Keep ''filled with the Spirit." 

How a Re viva/ Began. 

During a revival of religion a young lady was 
deeply convicted for heart purity. She was often 
at the altar as a seeker, and prayed earnestly for the 
blessing, but to no purpose. Satisfied that some- 
thing was in the way, the minister asked, among other 
things, "What is your occupation .?" *' I teach school," 
was the answer. " Do you pray in your school ? " 
he continued. " No, sir." " Do you not think it is 
your duty to do so ? " With deep emotion, she replied, 
" I do, and would gladly do it if I could ; but the trus- 
tees allow no one to pray in the school I teach. To 
attempt it would turn me out of the school, which 
is my only means of support." She was urged to do 



102 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

duty and take the chances, assured that God would 
provide. After more vain attempts to secure the bless- 
ing in neglect of one plain duty, she said, *' O Lord, 
I yield ; I will pray in my school if I go through the 
poorhouse to heaven." Then the blessing came in all 
its fulness. 

She went to her school happy in God, and redeemed 
her pledge. As was expected, the following day she 
was called on by one of the trustees, who said, " I 
understand you have introduced a new study into our 
school." ** Not that I know of," was the answer. 
''Well," said he, *'you read the Bible and pray in 
school, do you not ? " " Not in school hours," she 
answered ; ** but after teaching the time demanded, I 
pray with the scholars." " You must quit it," he 
said, " or quit the school. We did not hire you to 
teach our children religion, and cannot allow it." "I 
am sorry," said she, " to leave the school, but I stand 
pledged to God to pray with the children so long as I 
teach it, and dare not break my vow. When must 
I leave.?" *'Well," said he, **you may go on till Sat- 
urday," — doubtless hoping by that time she would 
recant. She prayed fervently each day, and when her 
time was out told the children she must leave them 
because she prayed in the school. Then, after a sea- 
son of prayer, in which some of the scholars joined, 
she bade them farewell, and went to her boarding place. 

One little girl, — a daughter of the said trustee, — 
who had manifested great religious feeling and had 
prayed earnestly for salvation at their last gathering 
with the expelled teacher, on meeting her father, con- 
versed with him about as follows : " O pa, you don't 



REVIVAL WORKERS. 108 

know what a good meeting we had with the teacher 
after school to-night ! She prayed for us, and then we 
prayed for ourselves ; and while thinking how much 
Jesus loved little children I got very happy, and I am 
very happy now. You don't know, pa, how happy 
I am since Jesus blessed me. And He wants to make 
you happy. If you will only pray to Him, and just 
think as I did how He loves little children, you will be 
happy as I am. Come, let us kneel down and pray." 

This was a new preacher, and such preaching as he 
had never heard before. It touched his heart, and, 
after much persuasion, partly to satisfy the anxious 
child, he fell on his knees, and she began to pray for 
him most earnestly. Conviction deepened until he 
began to groan. Finding she had a hard case on hand, 
and not knowing what more to do, she said, " Pa, shan't 
I call the teacher ? She can pray better than I 
can." "No!" he said with emphasis. The daughter 
prayed again for help, and the old man began to cry for 
mercy, and finally said, " Daughter, call the school 
teacher quick; I am afraid I shall be lost." The 
teacher was soon on hand, and, after confessing his sin 
in turning her out of school, he begged her to pray 
for him. She did so, and after quite a struggle the 
man came out a clear convert, and his wife also sought 
and found the Lord. 

The other trustees who had opposed praying in 
school, on hearing the news, commenced praying, and 
a glorious revival followed. The school, of course, 
went on, and the teacher who feared that duty might 
take her to the poorhouse, found herself in God's 
great storehouse, as do all faithful souls. — Sunshine, 



104 n:^nvAL kindlings, 

The Noble Boy who died to Save Another*, 

S. F. Swift in "All the World" makes poetical men- 
tion of the following touching incident which occurred 
at the Forest Gate fire : — 

The fire broke out near midnight New Year's eve, 
1889-90. 

A building containing over six hundred pauper chil- 
dren was consumed. Some of them perished in the 
flames. Among the number was a little boy named 
Jack, who lost his life in an effort to save a friend. 

It is said that, as he bravely rushed into the flames, 
intent on saving life, the last words which he was 
heard to utter were : — 

** I'm going back ! He's in there, is- Tommy ! I'm 
going back if I do give my life up." And in he dashed 
to what proved certain death. 

This is a faint picture of what Jesus did to save a lost 
world. Jack died for a friend, but when we were His 
foes Jesus laid down His life for us. 

Are we willing to dare as much to rescue souls from 
eternal flames as this boy was to rescue his friend from 
a burning building } 

*' If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.*' 

Spiritual Worm Webs. — "Oh, you are destroying 
the tree; if you keep on in that harsh way you will 
utterly ruin it ! " shouted the inmates of a worm's nest, 
as the faithful nurseryman applied the torch to a worm's 
web that was threatening the life of one of his favorite 
trees. " It is not me, but you, that are killing the tree. 
My work will save it, but yours would ruin it," he replied ; 



MVIVAL WORKEtiS. 105 

and with another application of the torch, the vermin 
were all destroyed and the tree saved. 

The tree is the Church ; the worms the formality, 
worldliness, and hypocrisy that seek a home in its 
branches ; and the nurseryman the true gospel preacher, 
whose severe messages are directed not to the de- 
struction of the Church, but to that of the self-con- 
ceited worms who are sapping its very life. 

A Hard Case. — I heard of a man who was going 
up into the lumber regions of Michigan, to be gone for 
a month or two on business. Before he started, a friend 
said, "You'll have a hard time of it up there, John, 
after those lumber men find out you're a Christian. 
They're a hard set, and they'll make it very trying for 
you. You'll need a good deal of grace while you're 
up there." 

After he got home again, his friend said, " Well, 
how was it, John } Didn't you find it just like I told 
you } What did those fellows do after they found out 
about your being a Christian .?" 

"Found out!" said John, "found out that I was a 
Christian ! Why, they never once mistrusted that I 
was ! " 

Which are You Like.? — It is said that two men 
were journeying on a very cold day, themselves in dan- 
ger of death by freezing, when by the way they found a 
poor man who was helpless and nearly frozen to death. 
One of the travellers, with warm heart, stopped and 
aided the freezing man until his life was saved and he 
was able to journey on. In doing this he became warm 
himself, and thus his own life was saved, and he also had 



106 REVIVAL S:iND LINGS. 

the sweet consciousness ot having saved another. The 
other traveller said that he had all that he could do to 
take care of himself, and in this selfish spirit passed on 
and froze to death. 

Moral : In saving others we ourselves are saved 
and blessed. If we refuse to aid them we ourselves will 
perish. 

Truth Shorn of its Power. — " But he preaches 
the truth," the enemy sometimes whispers, apologizing 
thus for the barrenness of the ministry of some who are 
not true. He seeks to blind our eyes to the fact that 
the gospel is shorn of its power — 

(r) When the truth is preached, but at the same time 
mingled with error. 

(2) When the truth is preached, but only such sec- 
tions of it as will not offend the listener. 

(3) When the whole truth is preached, but in a listless, 
frivolous manner which creates the impression that the 
speaker himself does not believe it. 

The fruits of such preaching are either no converts, or, 
what is worse, worldly ones. 

Fatal Folly. — He who uses pen or voice against 
genuine revivals is like an old Indian in stupidity, fool- 
hardiness, and peril, of whom it is said that he made up 
his mind that he would lasso an express engine. He 
got his rope all ready, tied it around his waist, sought a 
convenient place, congratulated himself on his antici- 
pated conquest, and, when the engine appeared at the 
desired point, with dexterity he threw the noose over 
the smoke-stack, and in an instant was snatched and 
crushed beneath the train. The engine moved on, but 
it was death to the Indian. 



REVIVAL WORKERS. 107 

Similarly sad will be the fate of all who knowingly 
withstand the work of God in any of its departments. 

A Successful Failure. — The following from the 
Pacific Advocate shows that meetings which the world 
may look upon as failures may at the same time, in 
God's sight, be crowned with great success. 

** Results are not measured by numbers. That meet- 
ing in which only a colored man and flaxen-haired boy 
were converted one-half century ago was not set down 
as much of a success. But that boy was Bishop Simp- 
son ; and measured by that fact, the meeting was one 
of the most successful of the last hundred years. 
When the garnering time comes at the end of the 
world we shall read our history as it is written unseen 
between the lines that are seen. We can wait." 

Soul Murderers. — The gospel invitation and the 
gospel warning should never be divorced. When the 
invitation is rejected the warning should be given. To 
neglect this is to be guilty of a spiritual crime that 
brings an awful penalty. God Himself has declared and 
it has never been revoked, " When I say unto the 
wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die ; if thou 
dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that 
wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood zvill I 
require at thine handy Surely nothing short of atoning 
blood and power from on high can qualify so to live 
that this command will not condemn, when we shall 
stand in final judgment. 

Only Ten Years. — According to the Messiah's 
Herald, at a recent missionary convention in London, 
Dr. Taylor, son of the missionary, J. Hudson Taylor, 



108 ItEVtVAL KINDLINGS. 

the report says, " went on to make the calculation that, 
if every one of the million and a half of the truly con- 
verted servants of God were to be the instrument of 
one conversion yearly, and if this rate of progression 
went on for ten years, every living soul would be brought 
to the saving knowledge of Christ." — Selected. 

Strike. — We must not only strike the iron when it 
is hot, but strike it till it is made hot. Great occasions 
must not be waited for, but we must make use of ordinary 
opportunities as they may offer. Should a great occa- 
sion again oifer, make the best use of it in your power. 
It is easy to hammer out iron when it is hot ; but if 
circumstances are nothing more than ordinary, repeat the 
blow and strike with power, nor give over till sinners 
are broken to pieces all around you by the power of 
God. — Rev. James Caughey, 

Revival Success. — Satan, if he can, will get revival 
workers to be content if they have plenty to do, good 
congregations, some interest, and seekers at the altar. 
The true soul-saver, however, never will rest until 
believers are being fully saved and sinners fully con- 
verted. He will fast, pray, search his own heart, and 
plead the promises with resistless desperation, getting 
lower and lower until salvation comes. "As soon as 
Zion travailed she brought forth her children." "Ask, 
and ye shall receive." 

A Mistaken Idea. — It is sometimes said that if we 
had equal power as at Pentecost there would be equal 
results. That such would seldom follow may be seen 
from the fact that there are few such gatherings as at 
Jerusalem at that time. Devout Israelites from all over 



REVIVAL WORKERS. 100 

the Jewish world in great multitudes were then gath- 
ered there. They were expecting the Messiah and were 
prepared to receive the Holy Spirit. It was a specially 
prepared occasion as well as a specially prepared church, 
hence the results. 

A New Religion. — The following in regard to 
the great religious reformation in Whitefield's day is 
true of every genuine revival. A certain baronet said 
to a friend, "After all that has been said, that White- 
field was truly a great man — he was the founder of a 
new religion." "A new religion, sir !" was the answer. 
"Yes," was the reply; "what do you call it.?" "Noth- 
ing," said the other, " but the old religion received with 
energy and heated as if the minister really meant what 
he said." 

Moody on Madness. — It was said of Jesus, "He 
hath a devil, and is mad." Mr. Moody says, "In my 
opinion no one is fit for God's service until he is will- 
ing to be considered mad by the world. They said 
Paul was mad. I wish we had many more who were 
bitten with the same kind of madness. As some one 
has said, 'If we are mad, we have a good Keeper on 
the way and a good asylum at the end of the road.' " 

Power of Personal Persuasion. — Five minutes' 
private personal entreaty will often accomplish more in 
winning souls to Christ than five months' public preach 
ing. Close action is effective. A pistol at a man's 
breast is more dangerous to him than a hundred can- 
non thundering at him two miles away. The preaching 
may mean any one or no one in the crowd; but when 
you talk to me, you mean me. — H. L. Hastings. 



110 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

"Drunk on New Wine." — Referring to the charge 
of "excitement " and "fanaticism " some times made by 
the enemies of revivals, Albert Barnes says, "The 
friends of revivals should not be discouraged by this ; 
but they should remember that the very first revival of 
religion was by many supposed to be tAe effect of a 
drunken frolic. 

Advice FOR THE "Lengthy" Family. — If Brother 
and Sister Lengthy would just take their great long 
prayers and testimonials and have them printed and 
distribute them as tracts, in this way, it may be, they 
would do great good. At any rate, it would help the 
printer and relieve the meeting. 

Spiritual Might Stronger than Physical. — A 
policeman in a turbulent part of a great city said to two 
women workers whom he knew were endued with 
"power from on high," "Would you kindly come out 
another night if there is a row ? You can quiet them 
better than we can." 

Contemptible. — Hell is before me ; millions of souls 
are shut up there in everlasting agonies — millions 
more are on the way. Jesus Christ sends me to pro- 
claim His ability and love. I want no fourth idea. 
Every fourth idea is a grand impertinence ; every fourth 
idea is contemptible. — Cecil. 

Sad, Mad, Glad. — Revival truth received makes 
men glad ; rejected it makes them sad or mad. Under 
Peter it was received, and the converts rejoiced and 
joined the church; under Stephen it was rejected, and 
they "gnashed fheir teeth with rage and killed him," 



REVIVAL WORKERS. Ill 

Stylish Christians. — Two little girls were playing 
church. One says, "Now we are going to have 
prayer. You kneel down and be a real Christian : I'll 
just sit down, and put my hand up to my face ; I'm 
going to be one of the stylish Christians." 

Powder as well as Bullets. — If you wish to kill 
a man you must have powder behind the bullet. So 
preachers of God must have the Holy Spirit behind 
their words to have them take effect. — Selected. 

How THE Revival Began. — " These all continued 
with one accord in prayer and supplication." " And they 
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak 
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." 

The Evangelist's Commission. — " Preach the word ; 
be instant in season, out of season ; reprove, rebuke, 
exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."^ Paul to 
Timothy. 

Trifling. — A pastor who allows a neck-tie social or 
lecture to break in upon his revival services trifles with 
the destiny of souls. — Michigan Advocate. 

"Good," "Better." — Gaining knowledge is a good 
thing, but saving sou]§ is better. — " Methodist Episco- 
pal Discipline," 



SECTION VII. 

REVIVAL METHODS. 
" He that winneth souls is wise." 

Methods Vary. 

Methods must vary with people approached. A mod- 
ern David will not be called upon to assault an artillery 
brigade with a stone and sling, although by divine help 
he may be enabled to achieve victory by means equally 
as simple. 

The modern John the Baptist or John the Methodist 
would stand by the banks of ice-bound Jordans and 
call in vain for the people to repent. The result would 
be rheumatism or bronchitis to John, and disgust to the 
people. 

David is a failure with the " sword and armor " method, 
while Saul can do no better with the sling. 

The success of revival methods depends greatly upon 
the energy and wisdom with which they are operated 
and the soil which is worked. Silus Indolence, Demus 
Proudheart, or Ego Ignorance, with the best of oppor- 
tunities and methods, will still utterly fail. 

Revival Measures. 

The measures should be both ordinary and extraordi- 
nary. There should be revival preaching. The sermons 
should be short, followed by definite altar and personal 



REVIVAL METHODS. 113 

work. Present salvation should be preached. Free 
salvation should be preached. Salvation from all sin 
now should be preached. Preaching and personal work 
must be direct. Beware of superficial and unworthy 
methods. The preaching should be in demonstration 
of the Spirit and power. — From Holy Fire. 

Personal Work in Revivals. 

It is seldom that more pointed, practical truths are 
found in the same space than in the following extract 
from the pen of one of the most earnest soul savers ot 
the present day. 

"The success of this work does not rest solely upon 
the preacher nor the people. There must be revival 
preaching and labor on his part, united to personal 
work on their part. Not that we can ever expect, or 
really need, to secure the undivided interest of all the 
members, but most of them must be interested, and a 
faithful few must be united to labor, suffer, and pray. 
There must be *two or three agreed,' — a * Gideon's 
band.' Against these the gates of hell cannot prevail, 
and whatsoever they ask in faith God will give it.' On 
these few will rest the 'burden,' the travail of soul, and 
earnest toil. 

For them it is essential and vital that they be 
clearly saved and sanctified. They cannot be led of the 
Spirit unless they have been sanctified by the Spirit. 
They cannot lead others where they have not been 
themselves. They cannot say the right word at the 
right time unless directed by the Holy Ghost. 

What they attempt will do more hurt than good 
unless moved by an earnest, kindly, loving spirit, and 
melted in the fires of tender sympathy for souls, 



114 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

"They must look to Jesus only. The mass of Christians 
are easily turned aside from this one thing. They get 
to criticising other folks ; and if Satan can get the 
church to bothering over side issues, troubling about 
what other members are doing, and talk, talk, talking 
about one another, he has broken up the revival. 

"They must not look to one another. 

"Peter asked Jesus what John should do, and the 
Master replied, 'What is that to thee? follow thou me' 
(John 21 : 22). We must not be asking why other 
people do not work, — why other Christians and other 
preachers do not unite and labor with us. Enough for 
a good soldier to obey his own orders ; and those who 
devote themselves wholly to their own marching orders 
will have no time nor occasion to meddle with others. 
The spirit of fault-finding and criticism is death to a 
revival. 

" This personal labor for souls, to win men to God, 
must be patient, persistent, and faithful. To be patient 
we must plead and invite and urge until they surrender. 
If ninety-nine times don't bring him, perhaps the 
one-hundredth will. Men may rebuff, repel, and fairly 
insult you, but, like the blessed Saviour, we must endure 
such contradiction of sinners against us (Heb. 12: 3); 
and after he is converted he will declare to you his 
highest regards for your patient, urgent labors of love. 
But be persistent. Tell him you do not propose to 
give him up or let him go until you see him saved and 
happy in Jesus. To be faithful is to be full of faith ; 
and, having faith in God and your work, you will be 
invincible, you will 'overcome.' God rewards such 
faith. God moves by His Spirit on his soul every tim^ 



REVIVAL METHODS. 115 

you ask him to come to Jesus. The Spirit stirs his 
very soul to its centre, and the tear, the lump in the 
throat, the husky answers show how God is moving his 
heart. 

" When a convicted seeker 'goes forward,' he needs 
still, and more than ever, faithful, persistent prayer in 
his behalf, at the altar, that he may surrender and trust 
Christ. Nothing on earth so helps and cheers and 
comforts a seeker as to hear and feel the loving tones 
of importunate prayer in his behalf. Earnest and 
melting entreaties to give up all to God, to accept Jesus 
as Saviour now, while the penitent soul is weeping and 
confessing his sins, will assist him to find salvation 
through faith in the blessed Saviour. If he is soundly 
converted, you will be greatly blessed, and a pecuHar 
affection will always exist between yourself and the 
man you led to Christ." 

Holiday Revival Hints. 

There is no more fitting time than Christmas, which 
commemorates God's great gift to us, to give ourselves 
anew to Him and urge others to do likewise. There 
can be no more fitting Christmas present and New 
Year's gift than souls rescued from sin and presented 
to our Lord. Then let holiday revival plans be made, 
prayers offered, and faith exercised. Look for the Holy 
Spirit rather than Santa Claus, and if both cannot come 
by all means honor the Spirit. Thus you may have 
such a wave of revival power as shall sweep away 
frivolity and revelry, and leave joy, exultation, and all 
the attendants of salvation. Let the church be as wide 
awake to plan to have Christ's interest placed first at 



116 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

this time as worldlings are to plan for pleasure, and she 
will be amazed at the stupendous results. 

" Call upon me, and 1 will answer thee, and show thee 
great and mighty thingvS, which thou knowest not" 
(Jer. 33 : 3)- 

Revival Watch-Nighi Services 

Are profitable for the following reasons : People at that 
time naturally review the past, regret its failures, and 
profit by its victories. They anticipate the future and 
feel the need of divine help to meet it. They are forci- 
bly reminded of the rapid flight of time. Also of past 
vows and of present obligations. More advancement 
can often be made in Revival work in one such night 
than in a week of ordinary meetings. 

We began a precious Revival meeting last year with 
a watch-night service. Brother Kellogg had wisely 
planned for it, and it was owned of God. Evangelist 
Weber always utilizes this service, and great results have 
followed. 

Thomas Harrison was converted as the bell of a 
Watch-night service tolled out the old year and in the 
new. *' Watch therefore : for ye know not what hour 
your Lord doth come." 

Pen and Press Preaching. 

What are the three most effective ways of preaching 
the gospel ? 

First, with our lives ; second, with our lips ; third, 
with the pen and press. 

The last mentioned is by no means the least effective. 
With our lives and our lips we can speak while we live 
and where we are. With the pen and press we can 



REVIVAL METHODS. 117 

preach to multitudes far beyond the reach of our per- 
sonal presence, and also for centuries after " our poor 
lisping, stammering tongues lie silent in the grave." 

God has clearly and definitely called some to this pen 
proclamation of His truth through tracts, papers, and 
books. Others are just as definitely called and fitted to 
circulate them. 

The fear of being thought "secular" or a "book 
agent " has tempted some thus called to avoid this work. 

God sets His seal upon it in a wonderful way. It is 
said that over five hundred have professed conversion 
through the reading of " Billy Bray." " The Christian's 
Secret of a Happy Life " has probably helped tenfold 
more people spiritually than any living preacher. 

"Out of Egypt into Canaan," "Christ Crowned With- 
in," and " Revival Tornadoes " are being wonderfully used 
of God and His people in this way. Many have found 
Christ and complete cleansing under God through their 
instrumentality. Tracts, also, have awakened thousands 
that seemed inaccessible to other agencies. 

A band of earnest " fire kindlers," who shall circulate 
soul-saving literature before the revival and during 
its progress, is a mighty agency to help promote it. 

Saved, 

Sanctified, and preparing for the ministry through 
reading " Revival Tornadoes." Rev. H. W. Sanderson, 
pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Hawley, 
Minn., writes, " A young man to whom I sold a copy of 
'Tornadoes' last winter was converted and sanctified 
through reading one of Bro. Weber's sermons, and is 
now preparing for the ministry." 



118 REVIVAL KlNDLtNQS. 

Mrs. C. Brace, Star City, Mich., ordered three copies 
of " Revival Tornadoes," and writes, " It is a glorious 
book. I have read it through, and would not do with- 
out it in my house. It has been the means of convert- 
ing my husband to Christ." 

An earnest western worker, referring to ** Christ 
Crowned" and ''Out of Egypt," writes, "I see the 
good work of my * six preachers ' very often. Seven of 
God's children have testified in our meetings here at 
home that they were led into the light by them." 

The Question of Expense. 

The following wise words on this perplexing ques- 
tion, by Evangelist C. H. Yatman, are worthy of 
careful thought. Bro. Yatman has had much experi- 
ence and great success, and is now, with his usual 
energy, helping to "turn the world upside down." 

**Many a pastor and committee is held back from 
aggressive soul-winning work by what this question 
brings up, * How shall we meet the expense ? ' To my 
mind it is one of the least important, because of being 
the easiest met. You ask, " How so } " I answer as 
follows : — 

" Say to the congregation frankly, * The people who 
profit by the services should pay the necessary current 
expenses, such as light, heating, advertising, printing, 
and the car fare and hotel bill of the leader. What- 
ever you give from night to night will go toward this. 
Let your offerings be liberal and all the bills will be 
promptly paid.* 

"■ Never has this failed to meet all the obligations, and 
it did the people good, and they were taught sound doc- 



REVIVAL METHODS. 119 

trine by thus doing. In my opinion a few rich and lib- 
eral men ought not to do all the paying for the crowd. 
It is not scriptural. Then, at the close of the meet- 
ings, let a little * free-will offering ' envelope be given 
to everybody, with another frank and plain statement 
that whatever they feel disposed to put therein will be 
given to the evangelist as his remuneration for the ser- 
vice rendered unto them. 

" There can be no question of the rightness of this. 
The rich can give their dollars, and the poor are not 
kept from their hearts' desire to give their dimes, and 
the sum total will be full and ample to him who has 
conducted the meetings, if he has served them as the 
Lord's messenger and given them the pure gospel." 

Revival Test/monies. 

One of the mightier revival agencies is the testi- 
mony of saved people. He who ignores it grieves the 
Holy Spirit and hinders the work. 

As Mrs. Booth has said, " The Lord is going to 
demonstrate in this land that He is not going to evan- 
gelize it by finished sermons and disquisitions, but by 
the simple testimony of people saved from sin and the 
devil by His power and by His grace. He is going to 
do it by witnessing, as He began." 

An evangelist had preached a number of nights with 
no apparent results. He agreed to stay one more, and 
if no one was converted it was to be the last. 

A little colored boy came to .the altar and was brightly 
saved. The next night a leader in the community came 
with a number of others and yielded to Christ. He 
afterward declared that he was convicted not bv the 



120 ttEVlVAL KINDLINC^S. 

preaching from the pulpit, but by the experience of the 
little colored boy. 

"Ye shall be witnesses unto me." 

''Getting Men Saved." 

The following instructions on the above subject by 
one of the most successful soul savers of any age is 
worthy of careful thought. 

•* What is the ordinary condition of sinners when you 
meet with them .? 

"Preoccupied, that is, taken up with the things of 
the world ; rebels against God, and condemned to ever- 
lasting death. 

" What is your business with them .? 

"To secure their attention, to persuade them to sub- 
mit to God, and then to accept pardon through the 
blood. 

" How do you go about accomplishing this ? 

"By talking to them publicly in the open air and 
indoors about their own sin, ingratitude, and death; 
about judgment, hell, and heaven ; the love of God, and 
the voluntary suffering and death Jesus Christ endured 
on their behalf ; concerning their influence on others, 
and other similar topics. 

"What do you do then } 

"Go among them in the after-meetings, or wherever 
you can find them, and converse with them personally. 
Press the truth home, if only a little moved ; convict 
them further. Make them feel ; have no pity on them 
until they are willing to give up all and submit to God. 

" But suppose they are not willing to yield, although 
feeling much and admitting all you say .-* 



REVIVAL METHODS. 121 

"Oh ! find out, if you can, what is the hindrance, and 
press them to give it up. Show them that it is better 
to cut off the right hand than having two hands to go 
into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched. 

" Well, supposing they are willing to give up and be 
saved ; what then } 

" Bring them out to the penitent form before the peo- 
ple and so test them further, and pledge them publicly ; 
and when there, offer them mercy, and pray with them. 

" But if they do not obtain salvation, what then } 

" There is still something in the way ; or it may be, as 
it frequently is, simply their unbelief; in which case, 
encourage and instruct and help them. Give them 
texts and explanations and illustrations and songs 
and, above all, a lot of sympathy. Make them pray 
aloud for themselves. Sing words having faith in them. 
Make them look at the blood, and trust the loving, 
dying Christ. Push them into fhe fountain. 

" If they don't get satisfaction, what must be done 
next ? 

" Never tell them they are saved if they don't think 
so. When a man gets saved, God will tell him about 
it, and then he will not need you to tell him so. But 
encourage him to go on seeking ; urge him to go and 
deal with God alone, and come again. Get his address ; 
have him visited. Go after him yourself. 

" What are you to do next if he gets saved ? 

"Give God all the glory, and get everybody in the 
place to help you to do it." 

Spurgeon Speaks. 

The following statements, made by Mr. Spurgeon 
some years since, have been wonderfully verified in the 



122 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

work. They promise, however, to be still more marvel- 
lously verified in the mighty revival efforts to reach the 
people, that are now in progress in the churches. 

He says, ** It is my firm belief that the salvation of 
London will not come from our colleges and seats of 
learning, but from her dens and haunts of poverty. I 
look for an army of converted sinners from St. Giles 
and- Whitechapel, — men whose fury in sin will be 
energy in righteousness, whose gratitude for pardon 
will endow them with hearts of fire, and whose 
acquaintance with the language of the masses will give 
them tongues of fire. Books may educate ministers 
for the polite : only experience and study of men can 
prepare a man to touch the hearts of the masses. We 
need preachers who will study, not their shelves, but the 
streets and lanes ; not paper and printing alone, but 
human nature in all its varied developments. The 
division between the ministry and the people is far too 
wide ; they will never be moved by professional skill ; 
the orator of the masses must be bone of their bone and 
flesh of their flesh. My own success under God is due 
to a sympathy with humanity, and an observant eye 
which delights rather to view man than man's works. 
This is not attainable by any amount of research 
among the learned schools. We must walk the hos- 
pitals if we would be surgeons, and we must mingle 
with the people if we would reach their hearts ; the 
language of the class-room is not the speech of the 
people ; and if we would be understood, we must leave 
our high stilts behind us, and talk on their level, think- 
ing and speaking as one of themselves. Only Thou, O 
Lord, put to Thy hand ! Do not imagine that I depre- 



REVIVAL METHODS. 123 

ciate a regular education ; on the other hand, I own its 
utility ; but for the vast mass something else is needed, 
and I have tried to indicate it." 

Saved by a Card. 

Recently it was reported in the columns of a New- 
York daily paper that a man stepped into a horse-car in 
New York, and, before taking his seat, gave each passen- 
ger a little card, bearing the inscription, ** Look to Jesus 
when tempted, when troubled, when dying." 

One of the passengers carefully read the card and 
put it into his pocket. As he left the car he said to the 
giver, " Sir, when you gave me this card I was on my 
way to the ferry, intending to jump from the boat and 
drown myself. The death of my wife and son had 
robbed me of all desire to live, but this ticket has 
persuaded me to begin life anew. Good day, and God- 
bless you ! " 

All this is no imaginary story, taken from a religious 
novel. It happened on a Fulton Ferry car, on a day in 
March, 1878, and the man who distributed the cards 
was Mr. James Huggins, the proprietor of a Pearl Street 
printing establishment. — Selected. 

''Dumb Dogs/' 

"They are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark" (Isa. 
56: 10). Such was the divine description of a faith- 
less ministry. Faithful dogs, when their master's inter- 
ests are endangered, growl, bark, and, if needful, even 
bite. Faithless dogs, instead, are dumb and slink away, 
leaving the interests they should guard at the mercy of 
an enemy. Christ is the minister's Master, and we are 



124 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

commanded to bark at everything which endangers His 
kingdom. If, for fear of offending or of losing reputa- 
tion or position or support, we refuse to bark at wrong, 
then the Bible declares that we are "dumb dogs." If 
anyone objects to the bluntness of this figure, their 
quarrel is not with the writer, but with the Holy Ghost 
who coined it. It is the " D.D." with which God Him- 
self titles all ministers who refuse to bark at the sins 
which hinder His kingdom. 

The following sins, without doubt, are among that 
number : — 

All violations of the ten commandments. 

License or any sanction of the liquor traffic. 

Licentiousness under the cover of unscriptural mar- 
riages or otherwise. 

Worldliness, which is spiritual treason, both in the 
church and out of it. 

Covetousness, which is idolatry. 

Unscriptural ways of raising money to run the church. 

Opposition to Bible holiness, whether open or under- 
handed, from high or low, from devil or titled divine. 

The laying of more stress upon the gaining of an edu- 
cation than upon receiving the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost. 

Private vice as well as public wrong. 

The exaltation of "churchanity" above Christianity. 

Not warning of the awful danger of the sinner's 
eternal ruin. 

Not preaching of the present peril of those who say 
they love God but, "keep not his commandments." 

Also against the danger of resting in a mere theoretical 
holiness which is devoid of a genuine heart experience. 
The folly and sin of making the Church of Christ a 



REVIVAL METHODS. 126 

social club to " entertain " people instead of a power to 

save them, and, in fact, everything that is contrary to 

the Word. 

God's blessing rest upon the spiritual heroes who, 

undaunted by derision, with the perfect love that casts 

out fear, persist in heeding God's commandment to "cry 

aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and 

show my people their transgression, and the house of 

Jacob their sins " ! 

Revival Preaching. 

"He that winneth souls is wise." " Knowing therefore 
the terror of the Lord, we persuade" — not drive — 
"men." 

Some seem to think if they can only make the truth 
"cut," no matter how or where the gash is made, they 
have proved themselves "workmen that need not be 
ashamed." As well conclude that every man who 
can make deep cuts with edged tools is a good 
mechanic ! In such matters, some seem to exercise 
almost every kind of sense but spiritual and common, 
sense. Gospel truths are sharp, and should be used by 
skilful hands. 

Some see nothing but compromise in a sermon, how- 
ever persuasive and effective, which fails to make peo- 
ple mad. They forget that rough, harsh sermons may 
involve compromise. A compromise is an effort to 
adjust differences by mutual concession ; and the devil 
will always concede one's right to preach the whole 
truth who, in return, will concede his right to dictate 
the manner of doing it. If a man will condescend to 
preach the gospel "as if the devil were in him," he 
makes a compromise as fatal as though from worldly 
policy he suppressed or misapplied truth. 



126 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

To be useful, a minister must not only keep to the 
line of truth laid down in the written Word, but keep 
right under the melting, saving power of the Spirit who 
inspired it. He who attempts to divorce these in his 
preaching does it at his peril and that of his hearers. 
" He that goeth forth and weepeth," — not scoldeth, — 
*• bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with 
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." — Rev. E. T. 
Owen, in " Sunshine." 

Revival Devices to gain Men's Attention. 

In order that the truth may save souls, it must come 
in contact with them. 

Either they must be induced to come where it is 
proclaimed or it must be carried to them. 

The miracles which Christ and the apostles wrought, 
and the fact that the gospel was then a "new doc- 
trine," made it needless for them'^to devise other means 
to draw and hold congregations. 

That "the preaching of the gospel" alone is always 
able to accomplish this end, as some have mistakenly 
affirmed, is seen from the fact that it was when Jesus 
preached His most spiritual sermon that many went 
back and walked no longer 'with him. 

That there ar^ many bells which it is lawful for the 
gospel herald to ring to call the people together, it 
would be foolish to deny; that some would rather 
preach to empty seats than to ring them, is a painful 
fact. 

In some places, because of lack of vital piety in the 
church, its past bad record or former revival failures, 
or other causes, the need of new expedients is more need- 
ful than in others, 



REVIVAL METHODS. 127 

The following are among the bells that may be rung 
with profit for the purpose under consideration : — 

Let the minister be filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Let the workers all be endued with the same 
power. 

Find and unmask the particular sins that are destroy- 
ing souls where you are. 

Have spirited singing. 

Announce themes that will excite curiosity, such 
as "The Unpardonable Sin," *' Fools," "The Lost 
Man's Lawyer," " Sobertown Lunatics," and many 
others which, if properly handled, will not only bring 
crowds, but will help to hold their attention and con- 
vict them. 

Scatter, far and wide, striking handbills, announcing 
the meetings and inviting to them. 

Abruptly dismiss, announcing the next night to 
close the meetings unless the people come in greater 
numbers. 

Induce as many as you can of those who do come 
to bring others with them. 

These are a few among many similar devices which 
have been successfully used to get the attention of the 
unsaved. It requires skill to select and use proper 
means to this end, as what would be fitting in one 
place would be a failure in another. 

Altar Work. 

Some preachers and workers preach straight and 
plain, but after all they do nothing but skim the sur- 
face. If they were skimming milk they would get the 
cream, but salvation is just the reverse, It is never 



128 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

found on the surface, but always down on the bottom 
rock. 

If your altar work is shallow your entire work will be 
a sort of a milk and water mixture, and you have made 
the field of labor more difficult for thorough workers. 
I would rather plough a field in the first place than 
plough after some one who has let the plough run out 
of the ground half of the time. 

The great trouble often is that many workers are not 
where they can get hold of God for penitents. Many 
are totally ignorant of God's dealings with seekers. 
They have no spiritual discernment to determine 
where a seeker stands before the Lord. They tell him 
to believe, when they do not know whether he needs 
faith or to make confession or restitution. Like a 
quack doctor giving medicine to a patient when he does 
not know either the effect of the medicine or the nature 
of the disease, he is just as liable to kill as cure, and 
more so. You can safely urge seekers to pray and 
repent, but never tell them to believe unless you 
thoroughly understand their case and are really bur- 
dened for them. You will find it very seldom that you 
need to talk faith to penitents, for the hardest thing for 
them to do is to repent and yield up to God ; and at the 
very moment they give up all, God gives them saving 
faith (I mean faith that can bring salvation), and about 
ninety-nine per cent of them are very glad to exercise 
it. I notice those who are so ready to cry, " Believe, 
believe," are the ones that get burdened the least, and 
know very little about the travail of soul it costs for 
Zion to bring forth children. If the children of Israel 
had been troubled with some of this class, they might 



BEVIVAL METHODS, 129 

have believed that Egypt was Canaan and had settled 
down in bondage ; but they had a man who dealt faith- 
fully with them. People invariably have more faith 
than obedience, and to believe over unwillingness is 
nothing but presumption. — Selected, 

The Altar. 

' The following are some of the reasons why it seems 
wise to invite seekers of salvation to come to the altar : — 

That thus they may publicly renounce the world. 

That their cases may be learned, and suitable instruc- 
tions given. 

That they may be intelligently prayed with. 

Meeting such a test strengthens their decision. 

It throws a barrier between them and return to the 
world. 

It has a powerful influence on others who have not 
decided. 

God's seal has rested in a remarkable way upon this 
expedient to aid souls that are making their decision. 

Evangelist James Caughey says, ** That God could 
convert them in * any other part of the chapel ' we do 
not deny ; but nineteen out of twenty of those who get 
saved in this blessed work of God have thus come for- 
ward to be prayed for publicly. If the revival be of 
God, this is a part of it which He has evidently acknowl- 
edged. But to inquire why more are converted at the 
communion rail than in other parts of the house of 
God, would be as wise, perhaps, as to question the pro- 
priety of the angel passing by all the streams and pools 
of Palestine and honoring only Bethesda as a place for 
healing the impotent folk," 



130 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Revival Singing. — In meetings for the salvation 
of sinners, care should be taken in the selection of 
hymns. The singing should be adapted to the work 
that is to be done. The singing of some hymns, 
instead of bringing conviction to hearts,, will have a 
direct tendency to do away with conviction. The 
hymns should be in harmony with the subject that is 
to be preached upon. Both preaching and singing 
should be calculated to awaken the lost. A steady 
line of separation should be carried on, on this line, 
until there is a revival of religion. Too much singing 
is death to soul saving. The spirit of prayer and 
travail of souls for sinners is the very opposite of a 
spirit of singing. When under a burden it is usually 
painful for workers to sing. — Selected. 

Summer Revivals. — Many pastors are convinced 
that the custom of confining revival services almost 
exclusively to the winter months is a mistake. 

The climate in the fall and spring is much more 
favorable than in winter, and the cost of caring for the 
building much less. The infirm and distant can then 
come with much less effort, and facts demonstrate that 
the Spirit of God, when revival conditions are met, 
works as readily at one time as another. 

With the aid of tents the summer season is becom- 
ing the most attractive for this work of all. As the 
revival wave keeps rising we shall soon be able to keep 
the enemy in hot water the year round. Oh that 
the Church may be as persistent and artful to save 
men as Satan is to ruin them ! 

Tardy Thomases. — A dragging opening begets a 
spirit of lassitude which it is difficult to overcome 



REVIVAL METHODS. 131 

through an entire service. The Holy Spirit is always 
on time, and His agents should emulate His example. 
** But Thomas, . . . called Didymus, was not with them 
'when Jesus came." The result was, he lost a great 
blessing and suffered from rheumatic doubts, when he 
might have been shouting glad hallelujahs upon the 
summits of Mount Assurance. Modern Thomases, be 
warned by his example. Absence from one service 
may cost you even more than it did him. 

A Mighty Revival Agency. — Thousands have 
thus been aroused and brought to reflection and to re- 
pentance by tract distribution. A ticket agent at a 
railroad station gave a tract with each ticket. Twenty- 
two persons wrote him that they had been converted 
by means of his tracts. 

A servant was once reading a tract very intently 
when her mistress entered the room unnoticed. Wish- 
ing to know what could so interest the servant maid, 
she glanced over her shoulder, and was awakened and 
saved by one word, " Eternity," which was the title of the 
tract. 

Two Tribes Saved through a Tract. — The fol- 
lowing incident is related by Rev. Bronson, a Baptist 
missionary : — 

"A native of India found a piece of a Testament with 
just one verse on it, — the wonderful sixteenth of St. 
John. 

" He took it to a missionary and had it explained, was 
clearly converted, and hastened home to tell with joy 
the tidings to his people of salvation through Christ. 
As a result two whole tribes were converted to God." 



132 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Convicted by a Poster. — At White Pigeon, Mr. 
Weber had large posters put up with, "Are you saved ?" 
"Are you prepared to die?" printed in large letters 
upon them. These were placed in the stores, when in 
came a travelling man, and these words at once caught 
his eye. He said, " I am thinking how to live instead 
of to die." At this he began to show his samples, but 
could not keep his mind from the poster, and would talk 
about it, and before he left the store he was converted. 

— From "Revival Tornadoes." 

The Gospel Worker's " Guarantee " of Support. 

— " If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good 
of the land ... for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken 
it " (Isa. 1 : 19, 20). 

" Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his right- 
eousness; and all these things shall be added unto 
you" (Matt. 6: 33). 

Manifold Methods. — The instrument of convic- 
tion is the truth, with God on one side and man on the 
other. It finds expression through the sermon, the 
prayer, the exhortation, the testimony, the tear, the 
look, the song, the printed page, and many other ways 
effectually reaching the sinner's heart. 

Importance of Wise Methods. — In the good days 
coming, a knowledge of literature, arts, and sciences, 
valuable as it is, will be esteemed as a flickering tallow 
candle in the presence of the concentrated radiance of 
ten million suns, compared with the mastery of the best 
methods in soul saving work. 

A Mistake. — Some have vainly thought it impos- 
sible to have a revival until every member is in working 



REVIVAL METHODS. 133 

order. Were such the case, salvation's chariot would 
always remain stationary. 

Between Meetings. — How can one have the best 
influence over others in revival meetings ? By living 
right with God and man between such meetings as 
well as in them. 

Religious Apes. — Imitating the oddities of others 
will not help but hinder in revival work. A human 
ape is a failure anywhere. 

A Difference. — A revival spirit and an unforgiv- 
ing spirit can no more dwell together in the same 
heart than iire and water can unite. 



SECTION VIII. 

REVIVAL RESULTS. 
" Feed my Lambs." 

It is one thing to build a fire and another to keep it 
burning. 

It must be replenished with proper fuel and the 
draughts properly regulated, or the best fire will soon 
go out. Revival fires are subject to like laws. 

Sometimes revival results do not appear to be perma- 
nent. Why they are not is often attributed to the 
methods of the leader, but in many instances the fault 
lies elsewhere. 

That the scattering of his converts does not prove 
the unfaithfulness of a pastor or evangelist may be 
seen in that those of Jesus reached a point where 
" many walked " no longer with Him, and that Paul and 
Wesley both lamented sad backslidings. Their spirit- 
ual death may be caused — 

(i) By the church in which they are being a spirit- 
ual ice house, so that at birth " they catch such a cold 
that they never get over it." Because a child placed 
on an ice-berg freezes to death does not prove that it 
was not properly born ; yet some local churches thus 
freeze their converts, and then charge the pastor or 
evangelist with the work not being thorough. It is an 

C13*J 



REVIVAL RESULTS. 135 

easy way to shift responsibility, but there will be a fear- 
ful reckoning to face at the judgment. 

(2) By feeding them on the husks of *' lectures " and 
"essays," instead of giving them the "sincere milk of 
the word." 

(3) By substituting worldly amusement for true 
Christian labor. I knew the result of a blessed revi- 
val to be greatly impaired by a course of ** entertain- 
ments " which followed it. I also am acquainted with a 
church where there were hundreds professed to be 
saved, but where the leading members were worldly 
and had " card parties " ; and the result was that they 
thus led the young converts astray, and then tried to 
shift the reason of their backsliding off upon the one 
who conducted the meeting ! As Sam Jones has said, 
" It is difficult to get people converted above the stand- 
ard of piety of the church where they are." 

(4) They are not taught and urged at once to seek 
complete cleansing from inbred sin and to claim perfect 
love. President Finney says that more backslide from 
this reason than any other. 

Some teachers have been so misled at this point that 
they have feared to teach the young converts entire 
sanctification for "fear it would discourage them." 

Would the experience of perfect health discourage 
an invalid } 

In any of the ways above mentioned the results of 
a revival may be destroyed and the leader of it be 
guiltless. 

Jesus speaks on the above subject in no uncertain 
tones. In Luke 8, He declares what we may expect to 
be the result of revival efforts while the world stands. 



136 kEVlVAL KINDLINGS. 

He divides revival attendants into four distinct 
classes : — 

1. Wayside hearers. These are those who come, 
but heed not the Word and remain unconverted^ (See 
McLaughlin's "Commentary on Luke.") 

2. Shallow-ground hearers. These receive the 
Word and are converted, but are unstable and soon fall 
back. 

3. Thorn-choked hearers. These are represented 
as being truly converted, but, failing to get entirely 
sanctified, the inbred sin within them responds to 
the temptations from without and they too are lost. 

4. Good-ground hearers. These are they who, in 
" good and honest hearts," — hearts " from sin set free," 
and "pure, and right, and good," — with joy continue to 
abide in Christ and bring forth abundant fruit. 

Notice — 

{a) That in this picture of revival results 
only one out of four who hear the Word remains 
faithful. 

{b) In each instance the sower did his duty and the 
seed was good. 

(c) That Christ throws all of the responsibility, 
when the church has done its part, upon the hearer. 

{d) That the fourth class bring forth fruit. 

{e) That Christ has no word of censure for the 
faithful sower, even though only one in four " holds 
out." 

These truths should stimulate faithfulness in sowing 
the gospel seed, joy because some will fall on good 
ground and be fruitful, holy endeavor to remove what- 
ever might hinder the growth of the seed, and perfect 



REVIVAL RESULTS. 13? 

trust in God that He will get the greatest possible good 
to man and glory to Himself from the results. 

After the Revival. No. 1. 

Form the converts into classes, and instruct them thor- 
oughly in Bible doctrine and as to their duties as 
Christians. 

Map out some work for each of them to do. Give 
the stronger the watch care of some weaker ones. 

Keep them off from all ''amusement" committees. 

Warn the young of the peril of marrying unconverted 
persons. 

Bear with their mistakes, and if any sin let them be 
reminded that "we have an advocate with the Father." 

Learn the gifts of each, and then wisely utilize them. 

God will call some to special work ; seek to encourage 
such, lest they be tempted not to heed the call. 

Teach them to study the Bible. 

Instruct of the peril of neglecting private prayer 
and the other means of grace. 

Let them be shown the need of at once uniting with 
God's people, and of promptly doing every duty. 

After the Revival. No. 2. 

Much will be gained by leading the converts to seek 
at once the baptism of "power from on high." 

This will enable them to come off more than con- 
querors over the temptations which will surely beset 
them. 

It will destroy all their relish for sinful pleasures. 

It will qualify them to do well the work which each 
will be called to do. 



138 itEVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

It will destroy the "old man" of hereditary depravity, 
who would get them into trouble. 

It will put and keep them into the very best possible 
condition to grow rapidly in grace and the knowledge 
of the truth. 

The hearts of young converts instinctively yearn for 

this cleansing and enduement, and, if rightly led, they 

will receive it as naturally as a little bird opens its 

mouth to receive the food which is brought by its 

mother. 

Why they Failed. , 

Some of God's children meet the conditions upon 
which God fully saves, but they soon fall back again. 

The following are among the reasons that lead to their 
relapse : — 

A dependence on feeling instead of a fixed faith in 
" changeless " promises. 

Taking temptation for sin, and yielding to discourage- 
ment. 

A failure to fully follow the Spirit for fear of being 
thought fanatical. 

A failure to acknowledge the fulness of the blessing. 

Yielding to acidity because of the blindness and per- 
versity of others. 

Yielding to doubtful indulgences. 

Ananias like, taking back a part of the consecration. 

Peter like, looking at the waves instead of at Jesus. 

Restoration for all such is freely offered in Jesus* 
cleansing blood. 

He'll not Wait 

Some months after a young man's conversion, he 
chanced to meet one of his former dissolute companions, 



nanVAl HESVLTS. 139 

who seemed overjoyed to see him, and who asked him to 
go with him to a neighboring bar-room. But the young 
man refused, saying, *' I have a friend with me." 

"I don't see anyone with you." 

" You can't see Him, but He is here." 

"Bring Him in with you." 

**No, He never goes into bar-rooms." 

"Then let Him wait outside." 

" No, no ! " was the final answer. " My friend is Jesus 
Christ, and if I go in with you He'll not wait." 

Noble answer was this ! And, like his Lord, he was 
delivered by it from the power of evil. 

Remember, this best Friend "will not wait" outside of 
places of sin. Who can take His place if He leaves 
you ? — Crown of Glory. 

Confessing Christ 

" Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I con- 
fess also before my Father which is in heaven. " 

A Christian man was laboring day after day in the 
same room with a company of unconverted persons. 
Revival meetings were in progress in the little village, 
,and the meetings and the subject of religion became 
the topic of conversation in the room, and these things 
were spoken of in a trifling and sneering manner. The 
Christian listened to the conversation one day without 
paying any attention to it ; but when they began on the 
second day to go on in the same reckless manner as they 
had done the day before, he felt as though he could 
endure it no longer. He stopped his work, and told 
them plainly but kindly that he was deeply pained to 
hear them speak so lightly of his dear Saviour and make 



140 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

such ridicule of sacred things. He could not feel worse, 
he said, should some one enter the room and tell him 
that one of his little children was dead. As soon as he 
began to speak, every person in the room ceased work, 
and all listened in perfect silence, while the man, with 
the tears streaming down his face, frankly confessed his 
love for Christ, and his grief of heart at hearing the 
name and cause of his Master thus held up to ridicule. 
The proprietor of the establishment was in the room 
at the time, and, although not himself a Christian, he 
told them that he did not wish them to rail out against 
Christianity in that way any more. After that the 
hands were more guarded in their conversation, and all 
treated the man with respect. Oh for more true wit- 
nesses for Christ, not merely in the house of God and 
on the Sabbath, but out in the busy world ! — men and 
women pure in heart and holy in life, who, while living 
in the world, show plainly by their daily life and conver- 
sation that they are not of the world, and who do not 
hesitate, on every suitable occasion, to witness meekly 
but boldly for Christ. — Rev. E. A. Boynton. 

Jesus too Good to give up. 

The following touching incident of child martydom is 
given by Eileen Douglas in *' All the World." We give 
it in an abridged form. 

Mattie was the child of drunken parents. She lived 
in the slums of a large city. By chance one night she 
strayed into a meeting. Christ was presented so lov- 
ingly and clearly that her hungry young heart was 
anxious to receive liim. When the invitation was given 
she wanted to go, but, fearing that it did not mean 



REVIVAL BESULTS. 141 

her, she slyly slipped up to the leader and asked, 
" Does it mean me ? " 

When she was assured that it did, and told just what 
to do, she dropped upon her knees, and with closed eyes 
and folded hands said, *'0 Jesus, I've come!" 

She tripped lightly home in her new-found joy. 
Arriving there, she poured out her story, imagining 
in her innocence that her drunken parents had never 
heard of Jesus, who would do so much for them, and 
only needed to be told and they would come too. 

Instead of that she was cursed and whipped, and for- 
bidden ever attending the meeting again. 

The peace of God kept her through it all, saying 
quietly to herself, ''He's too good to give up." 

She went again, and this time was punished more 
severely than before. But nothing could quench the 
love in Mattie's heart, — neither persecution nor starva- 
tion nor cold. For one hour with Jesus she would brave 
anything; so next night saw her in her accustomed 
place. 

Returning home she rushed up to her father : " I 
could not help it ; I had to go ! Jesus is far too good to 
give up ! " 

Giving her a furious kick in the side, from which she 
soon died, and muttering, " I told ye I'd kill ye," the 
murderer left her bleeding on the floor. During her 
dying hours she suffered much, and yet, in the midst of 
it all, she said that she was ''so happy." 

She pleaded earnestly for her mother's soul ; and 
when at last the conflict was ended, and years of sin and 
shame had been swept away by the blood current. Mat- 
tie's power of speech failed her, and she could only lie and 
look with unutterable affection into her mother's face. 



142 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

A little while before she passed away, she called for 
her mother to bring her dress and the scissors. Then 
she asked for the patch that was stained with her life- 
blood to be cut out. 

She looked at it, smiled, and then handing it back, 
said, "Give — give — it — to him." Then she gasped 
and seemed to sink almost away. Then gathering up all 
of her remaining strength, she added, "And — say — 
it — was — because — I — I — loved — Him — so. He 
— was — too — good — to — give — up." 

Then her head fell back, and her soul took its flight 
to be forever with the triumphant martyrs, who, having 
come up out of great tribulation, "have washed their 
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." 

Care for the Converts. — Great wisdom and grace 
are needed to care for the converts after the revival. 
Where spiritual children are born into a church that has 
no spiritual fathers and mothers to nurse them, no spir- 
itual shepherd to feed, and no spiritual fire to keep them 
warm, — starved and frozen, they soon present a piteous 
spectacle. A thorough revival strengthens the church 
in two ways : first, by increasing the power of those 
already converted ; second, by adding to her numbers. 
It is thought wonderful when one hundred to five hundred 
are converted and added to the church, and so it is ; but 
it is equally as marvellous when God's children so claim 
the "promise of the Father " that their power for effec- 
tive work is increased tenfold, one hundred-fold, one 
thousand-fold, so that " one shall chase a thousand, and 
two put ten thousand to flight." 

Spiritual Luxuries. — At a preachers' meeting in 
Cincinnati the question came up as to what should be 



REVIVAL RESULTS. 143 

done to hold the converts that were brought in through 
the Harrison revival from backsliding. Some sug- 
gested lyceums, amusements, etc. ; while Bro. G. D. 
Watson characteristically recommended that they be led 
on to entire sanctification, to find their luxury and 
delight in religion. What a grand thought ! Find their 
luxury in religion ! And, to the current practice and 
way of thinking, how strange and contradictory ! Yet 
it is in exact accord with the Scriptures. Take some 
of the Psalms, as well as many other portions, and they 
are prolonged outbursts of rapturous delight ; or the 
Canticles, and they are one continuous love song. No 
trysting-place of lovers ever witnessed such tokens of 
ardent affection as those between the soul and her Be- 
loved in His banqueting-house. — Selected, 



SECTION IX. 

JONAHS. 
" Return unto me, and I will return unto you." 

Qui of the Whale. 

"I've settled the question and am out of the whale," 
joyfully exclaimed a pastor in my presence the other 
morning. The question settled was a very trying one, 
and one from which he long had shrank. 

In so doing, Jonah like, he had been shorn of power, 
and felt that he was in the " whale " of God's dis- 
pleasure. 

Many, by neglecting or refusing known duty, get into 
the same sad condition. 

The way that Jonah got into the fish is familiar to all. 
How he got out is not so commonly known, and yet 
is clearly declared, and is a vivid object lesson which 
should excite every unhappy "Jonah," Mrs. ** Jonah," 
and Miss "Jonah" to go and do likewise. 

I. He Prayed. " I cried," he says, " by reason of my 
affliction." Instead of rebelling at God's afflictive provi- 
dence, he submitted and learned the lesson which it was 
designed to teach. Confinement in the fish was not 
an enviable place, but it was the result of his own sin 
and an index of God's love ; for, had not the fish " been 
prepared " for him, doubtless a watery grave and hell 

would have been his doom. 

mi 



JONAHS. 145 

2. He Confessed. — He acknowledged the depths to 
which he had sunk and the distance which he had 
departed from God. 

3. He Looked for Divine Interposition. — As it did 
not at first appear, he continued to confess his lost con- 
dition and to sink still lower in his own sight. It was 
at this point that he confessed. " The weeds were 
wrapped about my head." 

These " weeds " are a likeness of the weeds of error 
that soon enwrap the heads of all who wander from 
God. With some it will be the idea that they never 
were converted, or that only a part of the Bible is from 
God, or that all will be saved. With others it is an 
antipathy to holiness and revivals, a distaste for spir- 
itual truths, substitution of culture for the baptism of 
the Holy Spirit, and like errors. 

The longer that Jonah looked at himself the worse he 
felt. The prayer, "■ Lord, show me myself," should be 
followed by, ''Give me grace to bear the sight." The 
ghastly view of his backslidden heart so shocked Jonah 
that he fell into a fainting fit. (See Jon. 2 : 7.) 
Then, from the very depths of despair, when he felt that 
no other one^could save, he says, "I remembered the 
Lord : and my prayer came in unto thee." 

** When I forget Him and wander away, 
Still He doth love me wherever I stray ; 
Back to His dear loving arms will I flee 
When I remember that Jesus loves me." 

4. He Renounced His Sins. — He saw the deceptive 
wiles of the enemy which had led him to deviate from 
the path of duty, and in the light of them exclaimed, 
"They that observe lying vanities forsake their own 



146 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

mercy." Instead of trying to throw the blame on his 
wife or pastor, he shoulders all the blame, and calls his 
errors by their right name, "lying vanities." Oh the 
lying vanities that are damning souls to-day ! 

Neglect of the means of grace — "Lying vanities." 
Substituting amusements instead — " Lying vanities " 
Looking at the waves instead of Jesus — " Lying 
vanities." 

Going to some Joppa, when God says Nineveh — 
"Lying vanities." 

At this point Jonah saw the great truth that the 
backslider forsakes God and his "own mercy" before 
God forsakes him. 

5. He Decided to Yield to God. — Cutting loose 
from the monstrous weight, "I won't," which had well 
nigh sunk him, soul and body forevermore, he buckles 
on the life preserver, " I will," and shouts vehenjently, 
I think, " I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of 
thanksgiving ; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salva- 
tion is of the Lord." 

When he made that decision, and thus became again 
a conscious possessor of salvation, he was a prisoner ; 
but at once he turned his prison into a saltation service, 
and God at once promoted him. The fish was as glad 
to get rid of him as a saloon-keeper is to see a fully 
saved preacher go, and so speeds with him, I suppose, 
toward the point of his promised revival meeting, and 
with no charges for either fare or rent, it is glad to let 
him go. 

6. He Obeyed God. — No more Joppa when God 
points to Nineveh now. Where God leads, he follows. 
A succession of out-door meetings, repeated warnings 



JONAHS. 147 

uttered fearlessly to a wicked city, multitudes in sack- 
cloth and ashes, crying "mightily unto God," and, 
through God, the once backslidden, fish-bound Jonah 
stands before the world the great revival preacher of 
his age. 

There is reason to believe that there are many 
Jonahs buried beneath billows of God's displeasure 
because of failure to obey, who, within fishes of afflic- 
tive yet divinely prepared providences, are being 
schooled to see the folly of the 'Mying vanities" by 
which they have been deceived. 

May such, with an " I will " of penitential determin- 
ation, declare, " I will pay that that I have vowed " ; 
and then, by divine power, freed from their bondage, 
fly on swift and joyful wings upon the soul saving 
errands to which, it may be, they have long since been 
bidden ! 

From Jonah's experience every revival worker may 
learn : — 

1. Duty neglected brings trouble. 

2. Affliction will sometimes move men when all 
other means fail. 

3. The blackness of despair may precede the sun- 
light of salvation. 

4. That deliverance does not come until broken 
vows are paid. 

5. That God changes afflictive circumstances when 
they have accomplished their mission. 

6. That duties men backslide over must be taken up 
when they are reclaim.ed. 

7. That when God sends His servants and they 
proclaim His message. He will be responsible for the 
results. 



148 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Thus proving that, — 

" When preachers are true to their glorious commission, 
Then kings sit in sackcloth and cities are won ; 
But workers, too oft, are in Jonah's condition, 
And needs must be whaled ere God's work can be done." 

Ho Credit to Me. 

" How is it that you came to preach ? " I once asked 
of a pastor whom I was aiding in revival work . 

" It's no credit to me that I'm preaching, Bro. 
Knapp, but if you wish I will tell you how it came 
about." 

I was anxious to know, and he told me the story. 
May it warn others of what awaits, if they will not be 
obedient ! I will repeat the story, as nearly as I can, in 
his own words. 

" I was converted when young, and felt called to the 
ministry. I was diffident and felt that I could not obey. 
The impression deepened, and finally I went to college 
to prepare, but with mental rebellion in my heart 
against the call to preach. I graduated, but during my 
school life I had but the form of religion, with little, 
if any, of its real life. After graduating, instead of yield- 
ing to my convictions of duty, I plunged into business 
— at first with some success, but soon lost nearly all. 
Then a voice whispered to me, with startling emphasis, 
* Will you yield now } ' I would not. 

" Then I went West, and sought and found employ- 
ment there. Reverses, however, like^ those I had fled 
from, were soon repeated, and, baffled on every side, I 
was driven almost to despair. Again that voice which 
had haunted me for years asked, * Will you yield now ? * 



JONAHS. 149 

* No, I will not ; I will return to Michigan.' I gathered 
together the little I had left, and we started upon 
our sad and homeward journey. When we reached 
Chicago, my dear wife was taken with a violent fever 
and we could get no farther. My means were soon all 
gone, and, homeless among so many strangers, with the 
consciousness within me that it was all the consequence 
of my persistent disobedience, it seemed as if all the bil- 
lows of the great ocean of trouble were sweeping over 
me. Still I was obstinate to the great question at 
issue between me and God. My wife's sickness grew 
worse, but still I would not yield. Finally the crisis 
came. I mounted a horse, hastened for a physician, and 
hurriedly returned. I dropped the bridle of the horse, 
took my foot from the stirrup and dismounted. My 
other foot slipped through the stirrup, and in an instant 
I saw that I was in a terrible trap. The horse was 
fractious, and now frightened, began to run, dragging 
me upon the frozen ground. Nothing but divine inter- 
vention could prevent my death. I was expecting each 
instant to be my last. Then came the same kind, 
patient, persistent voice, the voice of my Saviour who 
had followed me all these years, and asked me again, and 
I felt that it was for the last time, ' Will you yield 
now?' *Yes, Lord, I will,' was my heartfelt answer. 

" I don't know how it happened but some way the 
horse stopped and I was rescued. My body was badly 
battered, but soon my heart was lighter than for years. 
As soon as able, I telegraphed to Dr. P — of the Michigan 
Conference, and asked if there would be a place for me 
to preach in it. 'Yes, there is room for you in the 
Michigan Conference,' was the reply ; and soon wife 



150 Hevival kwdlinqs. 

recovered, I united with the conference, and h^re I am ; 
but oh, how much I have lost ! " 

While telling this the tears rolled down his cheeks, 
and a pathos that cannot be put on paper made eloquent 
every word. He closed by saying, " So you see, Bro. 
Knapp, it's no credit to me that I am preaching." 

Righting Wrongs. 

People sometimes hold " hardness " toward others, 
which robs their own souls of peace and greatly hin- 
ders the kingdom, just because they will not do as 
Jesus commands in regard to those whom they have 
wronged. They seem to forget that He means that 
they shall do just what He says (in Matt. 5 : 23, 24) 
where He declares, " Therefore if thou bring thy 
gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy 
brother hath aught against thee ; leave there thy gift 
before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled 
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." 

The Holy Ghost " court martials " all who refuse to 
be governed by this law of the government divine. 

Thousands of dead and unanswered prayers are doubt- 
less born of the violation of this law. 

The numbers who have backslid because of refusal 
to comply with it, only eternity can unfold. 

Christ is the Christian's altar. Worship and labor 
are the " gifts " which he is to daily bring. 

A worker in one of our meetings came into great 
distress ; she lost all power as a worker, and none of us 
knew how to account for it. 

She finally confessed the cause. She had " remem- 
bered" that another had "aught against" her; long 



JONAHS. 151 

since she had stolen a thimble and never had acknowl- 
edged the theft, nor made restitution. Doubtless the 
enemy whispered, " It is but a trifle, and confession 
will hurt your influence" ; but she felt that if she would 
have peace that she must listen to Christ and seek to 
be '* reconciled." 

Obedience to Christ in this as well as other matters 
is the only safe rule. 

Seeking Reconciliation. 

When we have been wronged, Satan seeks to have us 
think that all advance to have matters righted must 
come from the party that has wronged us. 

In such cases, however, Christ has spoken, and makes 
our duty as clear as the shining of the noonday sun. 
His directions are unmistakable, stated as follows in 
Matt. i8 : 15, 16, 17: "Moreover if thy brother shall 
trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between 
thee and him alone : if he shall hear thee, thou hast 
gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then 
take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of 
two or three witnesses every word may be established. 
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the 
church : but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be 
unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." 

Probably nine-tenths of existing feuds never would 
have been had Christ's commands, as stated here and 
in Matt. 5 : 23, 24, been obeyed. 

His counsel is set at naught when, instead of heeding 
it, (i) we do nothing; (2) when we "go and tell" 
some one else the "fault " instead of the " trespasser" ; 
(3) when it is told to "the church" before the other 
two steps have been taken. 



152 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. ' 

The enforcement of these teachings of Christ is one 
of the most important and fruitful points in connection 
with revival work. Many times I have seen a revival 
take a fresh start by members practising these precepts. 
I was led of God to emphasize them repeatedly at one 
place, when the class leader came to us and said, in 
substance, "You are determined to crowd me to the 
wall ; I would as soon speak to the devil as to go and 
speak to that man." 

He was greatly excited, and spoke so as to attract 
attention. We did not know his peculiar difficulty, but 
saw that needed truth was taking hold of him, and said 
nothing to counteract it. For some time he continued 
in agony over the matter. After a restless night, how- 
ever, he saw that Christ would accept of no compromise 
in the matter, and that he must obey, or continue a 
"stumbling-block" to the work, and meet the fearful 
consequences at the judgment. 

He was a man of great decision, and as soon as his 
mind was made up — though early in the morning, 
before breakfast — he hurried to a neighbor, with 
whom there had been a long-standing difficulty, and in 
the Bible way sought a righteous settlement. He who 
has said, " If I send my sheep forth, I will go before 
them," had prepared the way, and soon all was sweetly 
adjusted ; and after kneeling in prayer with him to whom 
he had thus become reconciled, he started for his home. 
Before reaching it, he had to pass the residence of 
another neighbor with whom he was, also at variance. 
His first call had brought such a rich blessing that he 
could not resist the second ; so in he went, and the first 
scene was repeated, and with joy he returned home. 



JONAHS. l53 

Both of the neighbors called upon were old backsliders ; 
they were now reclaimed, and the work went on with 
great power. 

A Backslidden Class Leader. 

In another of our meetings an old man arose, 
and in a very excited manner said, "No man can 
make me believe, after my conversion forty years 
ago, that I am not a Christian ! " He went away 
unsaved, and said to the pastor as he passed out, " You 
told that minister all about me." He had been a class 
leader for years, and was too proud spirited to humble 
himself and seek the saving grace which his actions 
proclaimed him to be destitute of. I felt very sorry 
for him, but saw that there could be no hope for him 
until he would acknowledge his real state and repent. 
I therefore held him right to it to the end. 

The last night of the meeting, he handed me some 
money and said, " I want you to take this, and I don't 
want you to think that I thought that you meant me." 
I replied, "But I did mean you, and, as your friend, I 
want to warn you personally that unless you repent 
you will be lost." I said this tenderly, as I felt for him, 
and he took it kindly. His pastor wrote me a few 
weeks after that, that this person had been a different 
man ever since the meeting. In this way the Holy 
Spirit is able to take the truth, and with it pierce the 
very thickest armor of self-deception. 

It Might Have Been. 

A sad wail. Be warned by it. 

It fell from the lips of an old man, who was a member 
of the church of which I was then pastor. He had 



154 



REVIVAL KHrDLINGS, 



been endowed by nature with great gifts, but, like the 
"unprofitable servant," refusing to use them for God, 
he had "hidden them under a napkin," and so he was 
but the ruins of what God had evidently designed 
that he should be. He was a zealous church member, 
although, evidently, not living in the thirteenth chapter 
of I St Corinthians, unless possibly in the zero section 
of it. At this time his heart was touched, and he wished 
to confess to me his past life. 

In early life he was soundly converted and called to 
the ministry. He refused to heed the call, and, like all 
"Jonahs," backslid in heart, and got in trouble. It was 
a sad story, and I shall never forget the deep regret 
expressed by him as he closed it, and then sighed, and 
sadly said, "Oh, when I think of what I might have 
been ! " 

How many there are of whom, as of this man, it 
must be mournfully said, " Oh, if thou hadst listened 
and obeyed before it was forever too late ! " 

Beware lest thou too shouldst be among that 
number. 

Thai Hits Me. 

While laboring in a town in Northern Michigan, great 
interest, as usual, was shown in my large canvas chart 
of "the river of death." An official member, before I 
had preached from it, scanned it closely, marking the 
different sinful streams which swell the swift and fatal 
current of the main river, and the many fountains by 
which these are fed, until his eye caught the word 
"tobacco." 

He then came to me, appearing much troubled, and 
said, "Bro. Knapp, I see you have 'tobacco' on that 



JONAHS. 155 

chart. I wish you would touch that very lightly, because 
that hits me." 

He resisted the truth, and grumbled all through the 
meeting. 

He was unlike another man I knew, who said he 
needed hitting in so many places, that he wouldn't 
give anything for a sermon that hit him nowhere. 

Truth-seekers, not truth-dodgers, get the blessing. 
Men who, like the hypocritical lawyers of old, are 
always ready to exclaim, "Master, thus saying thou 
reproachest us also," are ever among the greatest 
hindrances to revival work. 

A Church Member but not Saved. 

He lived in a town in Western Michigan. He very 
attentively attended our meetings there. 

The state of things there was such that we were 
compelled to dwell very much on the dangers and 
symptoms of self-deception. Have since learned that 
it is a theme which, if properly handled, will do good 
nearly everywhere. At the close of one service this 
person hurried weeping to the altar, and, sobbing as 
if his heart would break, he kneeled and pleaded with 
God for mercy, and was forgiven. 

When he arose he made a humble and honest 
confession. 

Years before he had been brightly converted. Soon 
after a duty came up and he persisted in refusing to do 
it. 

In this way he became backslidden in heart, although 
he had hardly been able to own this even to himself. 
He had lived in the discharge of all ordinary religious 



156 kEVtVAL KINDLINGS, 

duties, and at this time was an officer in the Sabbath 
school. In the sight of men he was thought a good 
church member. His own heart, however, had con- 
tained an ''aching void" which none but Christ could 
fill. Instead of fortifying himself behind his "church 
membership " and '' official position," as some such peo- 
ple often do, he humbly sought the "Pearl of Great 
Price," regained his " first love," entered into the 
experience of entire sanctification, became a power for 
God, and is now a successful pastor winning other souls 
to Christ. 

How glad both he and those saved through him will 
be that he abandoned his deceived state before awaking 
at the judgment ! 

Business Looseness a Ban to God's Blessing. 

He had professed conversion and been a member of the 
church for some time, but, like some others with a sim- 
ilar record, he did not feel "satisfied." 

He sought the evidence of sins forgiven but could 
not obtain it. Was it because God does not promise 
pardon to the penitent } No ! 

It was because he had run up a big store bill which 
had long been due and which he had neglected to pay 
and seemed inclined to dodge. 

As he had neglected to even see the man he owed, 
who was not a church member, the matter had brought 
a reproach upon the cause of Christ. 
• He was led to see that he was lost unless he would 
be honest, satisfactorily settle the matter, and then 
come into a saved experience. 

Moral : Dishonesty and real piety, like fire and water, 
won't mix. 



JONAHS. 157 

A Thorny Path. 

"Bro. Knapp, we have come for your advice." 
The speaker was a man about twenty-two, who, with 
his young wife, had called at the parsonage. They were 
both members of our church, gifted, and capable of 
great usefulness. 

They were both very serious and evidently weighing 
a great question. He stated the case to me, which was, 
as I remember, as follows : — 

He was converted when only ten years of age, and 
was soon called of God to prepare for the ministry. 

He tried to smother his convictions of this call but 
could not do so. 

He came very near losing his life in a boiler explo- 
sion in which two men were killed but he escaped. 
This impressed him deeply but he would not fully obey. 

As years passed the call grew louder, but his opposi- 
tion to it more intense. 

He finally thought, " I will stop going to school ; then 
I won't have an education, and so, of course, cannot 
preach, and it will not be required of me." 

He did this but it did not silence his convictions. 

Then he said, " I'll put up another barrier between 
me and that work. I'll marry and that will make it 
impossible. Unlearned and married, neither God nor 
the Church will want me for the ministry." 

He married, but still found no relief from God's 
claims upon his life ; and his wife, instead of hindering 
him, exhorted him to yield and do his duty. She 
became possessed of the feeling that some great 
calamity would overtake them if he persisted thus in. 
quenching the convictions which he felt to be of God. 



168 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

We felt that surely he was grieving the Spirit and 
advised him to yield at once. 

Only a short time before then he made another vain 
attempt to thwart God's plan for him by buying some 
property and going so heavily in debt for it that he 
would be compelled to give months and years to the 
cancelling of the debt, and thus be placed, as he 
thought, where it would be an impossibility to free 
himself for God's work. 

He was now enabled to see the folly and wickedness 
of his course, and decided to give up and follow 
wherever God might lead. 

He apparently did so, and the way opened at once for 
him to arrange his business in a satisfactory manner 
and go to school. 

Satan, however, made one more subtle and, for a time, 
successful effort to thwart him. 

He had for some time been planning an invention. 
He had flattering prospects of succeeding with it. He 
thought, "If I'm to preach I want to be independent 
and not have to depend on the people for support." 

Then he made up his mind to leave school and first 
perfect his invention and sell it and then return and 
devote his life to the ministry. Thousands have fallen 
by yielding to just such compromises as this one. 

He reached a point where he could take ^50,000 for 
his machine, but no, he would wait a little and have a 
million dollars. 

Surely he was treading again on forbidden ground. 

Suddenly, like a lightning stroke from a cloudless sky, 
his wife died. 

Adversity now became his schooIm.a§t^r, Reverse 



JONAHS. 159 

followed reverse, until his property was nearly all gone, 
and his invention upon which he had spent years and 
a small fortune became valueless to him ; when, like a 
conquered child, he yielded all, and now has begun his 
long-neglected life work, and is a minister in the 
Michigan Conference. 

Moral : The pathway of disobedience, no matter how 
inviting it may seem, is full of thorns. 

A Bitten Experience. 

The following from a private letter from one who 
fell a victim of the tempter's power, painfully illus- 
trates the awful wages of sin, and the agonies that follow 
falling from the Way of Life. Let all who are saved be 
warned lest they too shall be thus snared by Satan, and 
may any who have fallen into a kindred pit remember 
that Jesus came to save the lost, and hasten to accept 
His proffered mercy. And let all who pray especially 
remember at the throne him whose sad words you are 
about to read. He writes under arrest for committing 
crime: — "I heard, with indefinable but intensely-felt 
relief, your name spoken, and at once hastened to my 
pen, resolving to brave your displeasure in the hope of 
hearing from you. Nor is the impulse a weak one, for 
shame silences my tongue and well nigh palsies my arm ; 
and I must hasten, too, nor dare to read what I write, 
lest my courage (what remains) take flight and is lost in 
the mad whirl of dissipation resulting in my present 
misery and pain. 

" Once I thought my mountain strong, 
Firmly fixed, no more to move ; 
Then my Saviour was my song, 
Then my soul was filled with love ; 



160 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Those were happy, golden days, 
Sweetly spent in prayer and praise. 

" Little then myself I knew, 

Little thought of Satan's power ; 
Now I feel my sins renew, 

Now I feel the stormy hour ; 
Sin has put my joys to flight, 
Sin has turned my day to night. 

"Once I held my head away up high, laughed at 
Satan's tricks and wiles, and called myself my deadly 
enemy's master; but I forgot, — no, let me tell the truth, 
— I did not care to remember, that it was not I but my 
God that was the master of my enemy. Ah ! that was 
an awful mistake when, for the second time, I grasped 
in my embrace the devourer of my home, my name, 
my heart, my peace, and I might almost add, my hope, 
which has not left me utterly, as is evidenced by my 
hasty cry to you for what I do not know, unless it be for 
one blessed moment to breathe an atmosphere of 
purity, and to forget, for a while, the dismal gloom of 
the present in wondering if there may not be a brighter 
future." 

Would not ''Knuckle." — One of the greatest hin- 
drances in soul-saving work is professors who are des- 
titute of the Spirit of Christ. While doing pastoral 
work at M — , I came across a man of that description 
who stood right m the way of an unconverted brother 
whom he evidently had wronged. When urged to take 
some steps to bring about a reconciliation, he flatly and 
angrily refused, saying : — 

"That would be knuckling down. I won't knuckle." 
Such persons seem to forget that Christ has declared, 



JONAHS. 161 

**But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither 
will your Father forgive yours." To the ruin of them- 
selves and others they go on thus, treacherously betray- 
ing the interests of Him whose followers they profess 
to be. 

A Help in Distress. — " Then they cry unto the Lord 
in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their 
distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the 
waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because 
they be quiet ; so he bringeth them unto their desired 
haven. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his 
. . . wonderful works to the children of men ! '* 

"I'm a Jonah." — After preaching about Jonah one 
evening, I went to a man in the audience, and asked 
him how it was with him. 

" I'm a Jonah," was his sad but honest answer. 

He went home, erected his family altar, and came 
back the next meeting, a saved and happy man. He 
became one of the best workers in the revival. 



SECTION X, 

INFIDELITY. 
" He that believeth not is condemned already." 

An Infidel Saved by Walking in the Light. 

A LADY came to a revival meeting in L — . She did 
not like the tests which were frequently taken. She was 
an infidel, but did not like to be classed with bad 
people. She made up her mind that she would rise on 
the first test that she could. She did so. Still she dis- 
believed the Bible. A friend advised her to follow the 
leadings of the Holy Spirit. She said she did not 
know anything about the Holy Spirit, but would do 
what her better judgment said was right. She did so. 
One evening she kneeled with others in prayer. She 
said, " Now if H — prays, I will. It surely must be 
right to pray." She prayed, but could not ask in Jesus' 
name. Then the thought came to her, " I have prayed 
and do not believe in Christ. What a hypocrite I am ! " 

For the first time she felt that she was a lost soul. 
She was in untold agony, and remained in this state for 
a little time, when the Holy Spirit drew her to Christ, 
and she was enabled to see Him as He is and to accept 
of His salvation. 

Then she was happy. She lived a holy life and has 
gone now to be forever with the Lord. 

tl62] 



INFIDELITY. 163 

Surely, they who do " His will shall know of the 
doctrine." — Rev. W. Taylor, Leslie, Mick. 

God — Eternity. 

A few years ago a Christian gentleman went on a 
trip down the Mississippi River. He alM^ays carried 
a supply of tracts. While on the steamboat he distrib- 
uted some tracts to the different passengers on board. 
He came to a gaming table where two or three men sat 
engaged in a game of cards. He handed each a tract. 
One of them took out his knife and contemptuously 
clipped it into small particles. He held the last piece, 
not larger than liis thumb nail, in his hand — read on 
one side the word '*God." He turned it over and read 
on the other side the word "Eternity," then threw it 
down. Little did he know that a seed of gospel truth 
was lodged in his mind. He never forgot those two 
little words — so small, but full of life-giving power. 
After an hour or so, the words '* God " and " Eternity " 
reverberated in his mind. He paid little attention to it 
at first, but it kept resounding, "God!" "Eternity!" 
He laid down at night, and still the words clung to him 
" God ! " " Eternity ! " The next morning, when he 
awoke, the first thought that was presented to his mind 
was these two little words, which by this time had grown 
some, " God ! " " Eternity ! " They clung with greater 
tenacity during the day. Whichever way he turned they 
confronted him, "God!" "Eternity!" It .seemed to 
him that God and eternity were now realities. The 
next night he slept scarcely any. " God ! " " Eternity ! " 
kept him awake. God was a consuming fire ; He was 
angry with the sinner, Eteriiity had no end ; and, unless 



164 EE VITAL KINDLTNGS. 

he sought and obtained God's favor, he would have 
to spend eternity in hell. He sought and obtained the 
pardon of his sins, and became a useful Christian, — 
converted through only two little words, "God," "Eter- 
nity." — Evangelist. 

The Peril of Unbelief. 

A vessel named the Thetis was cruising in the 
Mediterranean in search of a shoal, or bank, said to exist 
beneath the treacherous waters. The captain, after all 
his efforts had failed, abandoned the enterprise, declar- 
ing "that the reported danger was all a dream." 

An on-board officer formed a different judgment ; 
went out by himself on an expedition afterward 
into the very same latitude and longitude, and there 
discovered the reef of rocks, which he reported to the 
admiralty, and it was inserted in the charts, the discov- 
erer being rewarded with a high appointment. 

The intelligence came to the captain's ears ; he 
would not believe in the discovery. He was a shrewd, 
clever, practical man, but unscientific, incredulous, and 
obstinate. "The whole thing is a falsehood," he 
exclaimed ; adding, " If ever I have the keel of the 
Thetis under me again in those waters, if I don't carry 
her clean over where the chart makes a rock, call me a 
liar and no seaman." 

Two years after he was conveying, in the same 
vessel, the British ambassador to Naples. One windy 
night, he and the master were exarpining the chart on 
deck, by the light of a lantern, when the latter pointed 
out the sunken rock on the map. "What! " exclaimed 
the old seaman, " i§ tbi§ inv^ntJoji to meet me in the 



INFIDELITY. 165 

teeth again ? No ; I swore I would sail over the spot 
the first chance I had, and I'll do it ! " 

He went down into the cabin, merrily related the 
story to the company, and said, "Within five minutes 
we shall have crossed the spot." But presently a 
grating touch was felt ; then a shock, a crash ; the ship 
was foundering ! The most of the crew were saved ; 
but the captain was last seen on the dark hull of the 
Thetis, as the foam burst round her bow and stern. 

He perished in his unbelief ! 

So perish multitudes. God has laid down upon the 
map of His Word a sunken rock. He warns you of hell 
— of perdition ; but you will not believe. On you go, 
determined to brave the worst ; and then, too late, you 
will find out how unbelieving you have been. But "why 
will ye die" ? Are you determined to commit suicide on 
your soul } — S. M. Haughton, in Christian Harvester. 

Salvaiion of a Would-Be Suicide. 

I was converted at the age of fourteen. I was raised 
to believe that to be a Christian I had to put on a long 
face, which I could not do, so I went back. I tried to 
be an infidel; I first read W. Denton's works, then 
Voltaire, Ingersoll, Darwin, and many others. In the 
mean time came to Kansas, engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness, and in less than eighteen months I lost quite a 
fortune and was left penniless. Not only that, but I 
had contracted bad habits. In the winter of 1878, I 
went to Leadville, Col., with my experience. My bad 
habits followed me ; my worst sins were cards and women. 
Shortly after arriving at Leadville, I secured a position 
with a mining company as superintendent. During 
that time I was permitted to see sin in all its stages. 



166 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

I travelled from Mexico to the British possessions. It 
was an up-and-down life, and spiritually I was dead, 
dead ! 

In June, 1884, I was travelling with Piatt M. 
McDonald, formerly editor of the Plymouth (Indiana) 
Democrat^ in Washington Territory, near the Cascades. 
One Saturday evening we stopped in a lonely place to 
camp over Sunday. On Sunday morning, bright and 
early, I was up, but, somehow or other, I felt very 
despondent ; why, I could not tell. But all my past 
life came before me : the good advice that had been 
given me by my grand-parents, as I was raised an 
orphan from the age of fourteen months. So after 
sitting by the camp-fire till near nine o'clock a.m., I 
could stand it no longer ; I picked up a revolver and 
thoug'ht I would put an end to myself. I concluded that 
I would go away from the camp where Mr. McDonald 
would not find my body. As the country was unin- 
habited, I thought the wild animals would soon devour 
my body. After walking about an hour, I came to what 
I thought would be a suitable place to commit this 
hellish deed. All the while I was justifying myself by 
looking at what others had done. So I got down upon 
my knees, thinking where I should place the fatal 
weapon so as to produce instant death ; but while there, 
a different feeling came over me ; something seemed to 
say, *' You had better pray ; see if there is a God." Well, 
I commenced to pray ; at first there were a good many 
" ifs" in my prayer, but after a while they got out of the 
way. I do not know just how long I grayed, — perhaps 
near an hour ; I felt relief. I then raised my eyes to 
look in front of me and beheld two women on their knees, 



INFIDELITY. 167 

one about twenty feet from me, with her face directly 
toward me, — a face that I am unable to describe for its 
beauty ; nothing but a glorified one can be like it. She 
spoke in a clear and distinct voice, but sweet beyond 
description, "Be patient; the change will come." 
After this sentence was spoken they vanished. 

Well, that settled the question with me that there 
was a God. I quit some of my bad habits, and soon 
after went to Kansas, and began to attend church; 
heard many so-called fine sermons, but they were cold 
and formal. Finally I was persuaded to join the church 
through policy, as I had no sacrifice to make ; the 
church made the sacrifice. I was received into the 
church^'as a member in full fellowship. I went on this 
way for a year, till two young ladies came in our neigh- 
borhood, who had been converted in the Salvation 
Army. I went out of curiosity for a while. I noticed that 
they were unlearned, could scarcely read, but there was 
a power about them some way that I could not understand. 
The more I went the more I wanted to go ; in about 
two weeks I, a church member, was converted to God. 
It did not stop at conversion ; I surrendered all, and 
that meant preach the Word. It was a heavy cross, 
but the Lord is helping me to carry it. 

At my first revival there were thirty converted, be- 
sides quite a number pulled out of the old rut of 
formalism. Now all I can do will not begin to pay 
what God has done for me. All that I ask for is the 
power of the Holy Ghost to point sinners to the 
" Lamb of God, which, taketh away the sin of the world." 



168 hevival Kindlings. 

Test it and See. 

There were a good many remarkable conversions. 
We recollect one — that of E. B. Andrews. He had 
been wounded and disabled in the army. His father was 
a Baptist preacher, but he was a pronounced infidel. I 
went into his room to get some matches, in order to get 
a chance to talk to him. He told me he did not believe 
a thing in the Bible ; it was all contradictions* I chal- 
lenged him to test it by prayer, and told him if God did 
not answer him I would saw wood and put him through 
college. I said he was like a boy looking for contra- 
dictions in the exceptions to the rules in the back part 
of the Greek grammar instead of beginning with the 
alphabet. 

About a week after I had prayed for this infidel, who 
was doing bad work by his infidel teaching in the school, 
I called into his room about the time we were to go up 
to our class. While he was getting ready to go, I said 
to him, ** Andrews, what do you think about this mat- 
ter of religion ? *' 

"Well, Ellis," said he, "I have been thinking about 
the matter in the common sense light you put it, and 
I have made up my mind to test it and see what there 
is in it." 

I took out my watch — it was ten minutes to the 
class ; it began at three. " If you mean it, Andrews, 
you have plenty of time to test it before we go to class," 
said I. 

" I am ready," said he. 

" Kneel right down where you are and ask God for 
the Spirit, and He will give it to you," said I. 

Down he got upon his knees, and, lifting up his head, 



INFIDELITY. 169 

with closed eyes and his countenance set in a deter- 
mined way, prayed, " O God, whoever Thou art, and 
whatever are Thy functions, we know that Thou art 
almighty, because Thou hast created the universe. I 
pray Thee, whatever there is in the religion of Jesus 
Christ, to reveal it unto me by Thy Holy Spirit. O 
Lord, I give myself to Thee, to follow and be led by 
Thee as long as I live." At this point the Spirit of 
God in power, sensibly, to me, fell upon him. The 
next breath of prayer was the prayer of a Christian : 
" O God, let this work go on in the school, and let not 
a single sinner escape. For Christ's sake. Amen." 

He arose from his knees, and I said, "How is it, 
Andrews.?" 

"It is all right; I have the witness of the Spirit," 
said he. 

That night, and ever after, he was a good worker in 
the school, much to the surprise of many who had 
considered him an incorrigible infidel. — Rev. W. T. 
Ellis. 

A Glass of ihe Wraih of God. 

In one of the quiet towns of the West, years ago, 
there lived an able and faithful minister of the gospel. 
There was in his parish at a certain time an unusual 
interest in religion, and a sermon was preached on the 
"Wrath of God." It was a very faithful discourse, and 
deeply affected the congregation. 

After the sermon an inquiry meeting was held, 
and many remained. Among the number were two 
wicked young men, who, from motives of curiosity or 
mischief, placed themselves among the inquirers. They 
tried to disturb the meeting and distract the attention 



170 REVIVAL KINDLINGS* 

of those who were really serious. After the meeting 
they went to the hotel, and, walking up to the bar, 
called for something to drink. They were asked what 
they would have. One of them replied, *'Give me a 
glass of the wrath of God." The bartender turned 
him out something in the usual way, and he drank it 
and instantly fell dead upon the floor! A powerful 
impression was made upon the young men of that 
place, and the event is remembered there yet with 
fear and dread. — Selected. 

I Watched You. 

A man of great wealth, prominence, and learning, 
who is the owner of extensive mining interests in 
Pennsylvania, had unfortunately become an infidel and 
almost a blaspheming atheist. He had in his employ 
a man of desperate character, — a man whose profanity 
and wickedness was shocking even to him, infidel and 
atheist as he was ; but such was his value as a work- 
man that he disliked to give him up. At last this 
wicked, lost man was brought under reHgious influ- 
ences, through a meeting held by a Methodist minister 
for the benefit of sinners. He was soon brought under 
conviction for sin, and after a fearful struggle was hap- 
pily converted to God. His whole manner of life was 
at once reversed. His terribly passionate nature gave 
place to one as gentle as a child's. His fearful profan- 
ity was supplanted by a spirit of prayer and praise, and 
his insubordination gave place to fidelity of the strictest 
type. Soon after his conversion he became anxiously 
concerned about his employer, but could not gather up 
sufficient courage to go to his home and speak to him 
about his soul. 



INFIDELITY. . I7l 

At last, some six months after his conversion, he 
became so deeply concerned upon the subject that he 
could not sleep ; and one morning early, after spending 
a sleepless night, he determined to go to his employer 
in the name and strength of his divine Master, and 
speak to him about his soul. He started with trem- 
bling on his way. As he approached the house he saw 
that, early as it was, there was a light in a lower room. 
He knocked timidly at the door; his employer answered 
the summons in person, and by his appearance and 
manner showed that he had not retired during the 
night. No sooner was the door opened than the poor 
miner grasped his employer's hand and cried out, " I 
hope you will forgive me, but I am so concerned about 
your soul, I cannot sleep ; so I thought I would come 
and speak to you." The man of wealth and culture 
pressed the hand of his poor ignorant employee, and in 
a voice choked with emotion said, " Come in, Thomas, 
come in ; I am so glad you have come ; God must have 
sent you. I am so unhappy. I have been trying all 
night to pray, but cannot. I want you to pray for 
me.*' They knelt down together, and the astonished 
miner poured out his soul in prayer for his distressed 
employer ; and there they remained weeping and pray- 
ing until the master was happily converted to God. 

He then, in reply to the inquiries of Thomas as to 
how he came under conviction, made this statement : 
" I have long been an infidel. I did not see much dif- 
ference between the lives of many Christians with 
whom I associated and my own, and that strengthened 
me in my infidelity. At last you professed to be con- 
verted. I knew what a terrible man you had been, and 



172 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

determined to watch you and see the result. I did so. 
I watched you when you were not aware of it, but I saw 
nothing with which I could find fault. On the con- 
trary, your consistent and marvellously changed life 
condemned me. I felt that if you, without education, 
and sunk to the very bottom of the pit of wickedness, 
could be so transformed, and lead so beautiful a life, 
there must be something in religion, and it was time 
for me, who had enjoyed so many a;d vantages, to think 
about my soul. And as I thought about it, I found I 
was a sinner in the sight of God, and lost forever unless 
He would save me. It was your life, Thomas, that led 
me to Christ." — Rev. W. N. Brodbeck, in Times of 
Refreshing. 

Those Hypocrites. 

"There is so much sham among religious people 
that I've lost all confidence in Christianity," exclaims 
a victim of Satan's cunning wiles. 

Before conversion, this fallacy of Satan, which he suc- 
ceeds in palming off on so many, never weighed a 
feather's weight with me, and I have never been able 
to see how it could with anyone who would stop and 
think. 

Why, the very fact that there are counterfeit Chris- 
tians proves that there must be genuine, for without the 
real to imitate, the false could never be. 

Their existence is also a remarkable fulfilment of the 
prophecy of Christ, which declared that there should be 
"false Christs" and "false brethren " who should seek 
to deceive, and whose hypocrisy should finally be 
unveiled at the great day of judgment. 



INFIDELITY. 173 

In view of these facts, their existence, to the thinking 
mind, confirms instead of weakens the claims of Christ. 

Very often, however, the "accuser of the brethren" 
will influence a sinner to think those are hypocrites who 
are not. 

I knew a man who seemed to have no confidence at 
all in the piety of a neighbor, who was a class leader, 
until he came to die, when he sent for him to pray 
for him ! 

The man who will not get saved because there are 
hypocrites, is like one who won't eat because victuals 
are sometimes poisoned, or take any money because 
there is some counterfeit coin, or like a child who will 
forsake his parents because some of his brothers and 
sisters are false to them. To all such God says, 
"What is that to thee.? follow thou me." And, "So 
then every one of us shall give account of himself 
to God." 

A Sceptic Saved through a Wife's Faithfulness. 

Another case I recollect as a very striking one, — of a 
German, whose name I cannot now recall. He was a 
tobacconist. He had a very amiable and intelligent wife, 
and was himself, as I afterwards found, when I became 
acquainted with him, an intelligent man. He was, 
however, a sceptic, and had no confidence in religion at 
all. His wife, however, came to our meetings, and be- 
came very much concerned about her soul ; and after a 
severe struggle of many days, she was thoroughly 
converted. As she attended meetings frequently, and 
became very much interested, it soon attracted the 
attention of her husband, and he began to oppose her 



174 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

being a Christian. He had, as I learned, a hasty 
temper, and was a man of athletic frame and of great 
resolution and fixedness of purpose. As his wife 
became more and more interested, his opposition 
increased, till finally he forbade her attending meetings 
any more. She then called to see me, and asked my 
advice with regard to what course she should take. I 
told her that her first obligation was to God ; that she 
was undoubtedly under obligation to obey His com- 
mands, even if they conflicted with the commands of 
her husband ; and that, while I advised her to avoid 
giving him offence if she could and do her duty to 
God, still in no case to omit what she regarded as her 
duty to God for the sake of complying with his wishes. 
I told her that, as he was an infidel, his opinions on 
religious subjects were not to be respected, and that 
she could not safely follow his advice. She was well 
aware of this. He was a man that paid no attention to 
religion at all, except to oppose it. 

One Sabbath evening, when he found she was going 
to meeting, he renewed his threat that if she went he 
would take her life. She told me afterward that she 
had no thought that it was anything but a vain threat. 
She calmly replied to him that her duty was plain ; that 
there was no reason why she should remain at home at 
that time, but simply to comply with his unreasonable 
wishes ; and that to stay at home under such circum- 
stances would be entirely inconsistent with her duty to 
God and to herself. She therefore went to meeting. 
When she returned from meeting, she found him in a 
great rage. As soon as she entered the door he locked 
it after her and took out the key, and then drew a 



INFIDELITY. 175 

dagger, and swore he would take her life. She ran up- 
stairs. He caught up a light to follow her. The 
servant girl blew out the light as he passed by her. 
This left them both in the dark. She ran up and 
through the rooms in the second story, found her 
way down into the kitchen, and then to the cellar. He 
could not follow her in the dark ; and she got out of 
the cellar window, and went to a friend's house and, 
spent the night. Taking it for granted that he would 
be ashamed of his rage before morning, she went home 
early, and entered the house, and found things in the 
greatest disorder. He had broken some of the 
furniture, and acted like a man distracted. He again 
locked the door, as soon as she was fairly in the h^||e ; 
and drawing a dagger, he threw himself upon his knees, 
and held up his hands, and took the most horrible oath 
that he would there take her life. She looked at him 
with astonishment and fled. She ran upstairs, but it was 
light, and he followed her. She ran from room to room, 
till finally she entered the last, from which there was 
no escape. She turned round and faced him. She 
threw herself upon her knees, as he was about to strike 
her with his dagger, and lifted up her hands to heaven, 
and cried for mercy upon herself and upon him. At this 
point God arrested him. She said he looked at her for 
a moment, dropped his dagger, and fell upon the floor 
and cried for mercy himself. He then and there broke 
down, confessed his sins to God and to her, and begged 
God and begged her to forgive him. From that moment 
he was a wonderfully changed man. He became one 
of the most earnest Christian converts. — From Finney s 
Memoirs. 



176 REVIVAL KINDLINGS, 

Sincerity Cannot Save. 

There is nothing saving simply in sincerity. A sea- 
captain sincerely believed that he was sailing in deep 
water,: but his sincerity did not change the fact that he 
was not, and his ship was wrecked on the rocks. A 
prisoner appeared before an ancient tribunal, was met 
by bland smiles, and finally, with much courtesy, directed 
to step into a neighboring room. He, doubtless, sin- 
cerely thought that a speedy and happy release awaited 
him, as with a light heart he turned toward the room as 
requested. He had gone but a few steps, however, when 
his feet touched a spring door and he fell into a mur- 
derous death-trap which had treacherously been prepared 
for him. 

Sincerity is no antidote for broken law in either the 
physical or spiritual world. The poison of sin is in the 
system, and unless the divine remedy be taken death is 
the sinner's doom. Every unsaved man is nearing the 
death-trap of eternal ruin, and, unless he turns, must 
soon become its hopeless victim. 

To forever banish the fatal fallacy that mere sincerity 

in his wrong views will screen the sinner from the 

penalty of sin, Christ clearly declared, '* He that 

believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of 

God abideth on him." No matter how sincere the 

human soul may be, unsaved it will be lost through all 

eternity. 

Scared. 

"I don't believe in being scared into religion," people 
sometimes say, when warned of the fearful peril awaiting 
them if they persist in impenitence. Satan is fearful 
lest his victims §ee the awful doom toward which they 



INFIDELITY. Ill 

are swiftly rushing, and so seeks to hush their fears when 
warned of what awaits them. 

If it is rational for people to be scared away from 
pestilential diseases and broken bridges and threaten- 
ing rocks . and precipitous precipices in the material 
world, much more is it reasonable for them to be 
alarmed at exposure to spiritual diseases, rocks, and 
precipices ; for the first can harm but the body, while the 
second threatens the eternal destiny of the soul itself. 
Personally, the peril to which my soul was exposed did 
more than anything else to awaken me from the sleep of 
sin and turn me from its fatal paths. When I did this 
then I saw Jesus, and He soon melted my heart into 
sweet and glad submission to His will. Better be 
** scared "from sin to the Cross now than to be " scared " 
with the doomed through all eternity with no Cross to 
which to fly. 

An Infidel Saved. 

Among the attendants of the revival meetings at E — , 
was Mr. B — and wife, both of them persons of influence 
Mr. B — had been an infidel. The death of a precious 
child had made him want an eternity in which to meet 
again his loved one. He was seriously investigating 
the claims of Christianity, and came to the meeting 
a serious and honest inquirer. As is always true of 
such persons, he was not left long in the dark. He was 
soon under conviction. Many were burdened for him. 
Conviction kept deepening. They went home, feeling 
so deeply that neither spoke to the other. They retired 
in silence. There followed then a silent struggle be- 
tween each one and the old life. Finally Christ con- 
quered, and the wife broke the solemn silence by 



178 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

saying, ** Husband, I have made up my mind that I 
must be a Christian whether you are or not." 

" Why, I had just reached that conclusion myself, 
that I must be one whether you were or not," was his 
surprised reply. They kneeled in prayer, were happily 
converted, and came to the next afternoon meeting and 
confessed their new-found joy. 

I have met with them a number of times since, 
always firm in the faith and abounding in the work of 
the Lord. 

Conversion of an Infidel. 

At the request of Bro. Knapp, and for the glory of 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I write the following 
brief account of my early life and experiences. 

I was born into an unchristian family. Father, 
grandfather, and great-grandfather were avowed infidels, 
and the rest sceptical. 

I remember of father reading the Bible once, for the 
purpose of ridiculing it.. He has taken me many times 
with him to saloons and bought us both some beer. 
Young people used to gather at our house to dance and 
make sport of religion, while cider was always kept in 
the cellar. We never attended church. 

When about fourteen years of age, I attended a dance 
given by the Universalists at M — . At the close, the 
preacher took the proceeds, fifty dollars, and kindly 
thanked them for it. From that time I began to laugh at 
Christianity, and became disgusted with religion as I saw 
it in most of those who professed it. 

After moving to Odessa, Ionia County, they got me 
to play the organ at church, and attend Sunday school 
sopfi?. One of th^ church members used to stop at 



INFIDELITY. 179 

father's and drink hard cider, and also use tobacco so 
much that he would go often to the door and spit. 
After he would leave the house, father would laugh and 
say ironically, ** There goes a sample of Christianity." 

I kept thinking still less of Christianity, and finally 
resolved to join some circus and practise a year, but 
agreed if I could go to the commercial college in Grand 
Rapids I would give it up. After coming from school, 
I began work in a store and kept company with a Chris- 
tian young lady. 

One day she told me her experience at conversion, 
which made me feel afterwards that I really would like 
to find out if there was any truth in religion or not. 
In August, 1886, 1 thought for sport and rest 1 would go 
to the Ionia Camp Meeting. I tented with acquain- 
tances from Odessa, among whom was Mrs. Hutchins, 
whom I sincerely believed was a Christian. I had con- 
fidence in her. 

I did not idle about so much in the woods as I in- 
tended to, but was drawn to attend the meetings. They 
got me into the choir to sing and play the organ. One 
night Rev. Levi Masters preached. The invitation to 
sinners was then given. 

O. E. Whitman moved along the bench, and putting 
his arm about me said, " Burnie, won't you go .-* " I 
burst into tears and went ; they prayed for me and gave 
instructions, but I received no light. It kept getting 
darker. The next day I could scarcely eat or smile, 
but attended the meetings as usual, feeling still more 
miserable than the night previous. 

I was continually annoyed by the less wise ones who 
would persist in talking to me, but their words gave no 



180 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

comfort. I believe if some one who really knew Christ 
had taken me alone, they could have led me quickly to 
Him. 

The next day I felt still worse. It was the last day 
of camp meeting. I resolved never to go home feeling 
as I did, but if not converted that night, to take the 
train at Ionia and go — I cared not where. 

About I o'clock P.M. despair seized me. Unknown 
to others I left the ground and went down the road a 
mile. I was sick of hearing. Anywhere to get away 
from all sound. I could not run away from a smitten 
conscience. 

As I look back now I realize how full of evil to me 
were the words spoken for my comfort. They tried to 
make me believe I was saved, but only doubting, and 
tried to cheer me up. I knew I was not saved. Had I 
listened to them and believed them, my soul would have 
been lost, for it seemed as though life and death had 
been set before me and the question asked, Which do you 
choose } 

Oh, how thankful I am that Jesus kept wounding my 
proud, self-righteous heart all the more ! I had shed a 
few tears, got down on my knees, stood up and said I 
wanted to be a Christian, and had God not led me they 
would have made me believe that I was a Christian. I 
wanted to know,* to feel different, to become a new 
creature, and no amount of false comfort could make 
me believe a change had come. I learned this, that 
when a sinner has been made a new creature in Christ 
Jesus he'll know it sooner than you do., 

For more than two hours I wept, prayed, and sought 
for light, but my soul found it not. I went back to the 



INFIDELITY. 181 

grounds and went to the young people's meeting. Again 
they prayed for me. I thought, surely God will end all 
this agony and suspense now ; but the burden of sin 
grew heavier. It was intolerable. 

Finally two young men led me into the woods and 
prayed for me until words failed. I tried to pray but 
failed, and said, " Boys, it is no use ; I'm going to give it 
up." 

I cared not what came next. We sat down on a 
log in silence. Unknowingly we obeyed His command, 
"Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." We 
did not wait long. A strange, restful sensation was felt ; 
the lines of despair in my face changed to lines of joy. A 
sweet wave of salvation gently washed me ; then others ; 
so gently, so sweetly, until my whole being seemed envel- 
oped in something. I felt God about me and in my 
heart. I sprang to my feet. Oh, "joy unspeakable and 
full of glory " ! I praised God and wept and shouted. 

Back we went to tell the glad news. I did not have 
to use words, or say I had raised my hand, and have the 
pastor put my name down on the church record. As 
soon as they saw me they knew I had found the 
Saviour. 

Oh, such a sweet peace ! I felt I was resting in Jesus' 
arms, and wanted to lie perfectly still. How I love 
Him, for I am "kept by the power of God''! — Rev. 
Morris E. Townsend, Freeport, Mich. 



We are glad to be able to give the above from the 
pen of Bro. Townsend. He is now a preacher of right- 
eousness and doing true and valiant service for the 



182 hevival kindlings. 

King. His experience forcibly illustrates the following 
truths: — 

The gospel is more than a match for even " hereditary " 
infidelity. 

The Christianity that winks at " dances " and kindred 
devices of the devil, soon becomes the " laughing-stock " 
even of infidels. 

Tobacco-using, cider-drinking professors are stum- 
bling-blocks to the unconverted. 

Christian testimony is a mighty soul saving agency. 

God honors gospel preaching and the gospel 
invitation. 

Penitents, if not satisfied at once, should seek until 
they find. 

Never tell seekers that they are saved. Let God do 
that. 

When people are really converted they will know it 
without being told. As some one has said, " Religion 
is not so much like nothing that a person cannot tell 
whether he has it or not." 

"/ Lied all the Time." 

In January and February, 1882, we were holding 
revival meetings at Emerick, Madison County, 
Neb. A very bold, brave infidel began to attend 
the meetings, at first out of curiosity ; but the ** power 
of God " was present to convict. He became very 
powerfully convicted, and after a desperate fight he 
gave up, and came to the altar for prayers, and was 
sweetly saved ; and as soon as permission was given 
him, he arose before a very full house of his neighbor's, 



INFIDELITY. 183 

and said, " My friends and neighbors, you all know 
how I have talked about this blessed Jesus (he was a 
great talker, and delighted to say all the hard things he 
could about the Lord Jesus, but now he called him 
blessed Jesus), and how I have always said I did not 
believe the Bible, nor in this religion. But I want to 
tell you now that I lied all the time, for I believed in 
them all the time I was doing it." — C. G. Rouse. 

*' Madder and Madder." 

Many, deluded by the enemy and allured by the gla- 
mour of sin, have hoped that beyond the grave they 
may have still another chance to escape the penalty 
of it. To such Christ points to the picture of the 
"rich man" "tormented" with an "impassable gulf" 
" fixed " between him and salvation. If a man won't 
repent with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and 
the prayers and pleadings of God's people, all like 
mighty engines pulling with all their wonderful ener- 
gies to induce him to yield, is there any probability 
of his yielding, even if he had a chance, when all of 
these agencies are withdrawn .!* With just as much 
reason one might expect a mountain torrent, that 
in its downward course has swept aside strong walls 
of masonry, to stop on the mountain side of its own 
accord. Such doubtless will feel as a man did who 
said that he expected to go to hell but to repent after 
getting there. Mrs. Knapp asked him if he really sup- 
posed that the punishment of that place would make 
him feel like repenting. " No," he said ; " to be honest 
about it, I think that it would make me feel madder and 
madder." Of all who have rejected Christ, and expect 



184 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

to get saved after they have passed into the eternal 
world, *'it is written" that their "expectation" shall 
perish. 

" Fixed in an eternal state, 

They have done with all below. 
We a little longer wait, 

But how little none may know." 

A Sceptic Conquered through Prayer. 

During the progress of this work, a good deal of 
excitement sprung up in Utica, and some there were 
disposed to ridicule the work at Rome. Mr. H — , 
who lived at Rome, was a very prominent citizen, and 
was regarded as standing at the head of society there 
in point of wealth and intelligence. But he was 
sceptical, or perhaps I should say, he held Unitarian 
views. He was a very moral and respectable man, and 
held his peculiar views unobtrusively, saying very little 
to anybody about them. The first Sabbath I preached 
there, Mr. H — was present ; and he was so aston- 
ished, as he afterwards told me, at my preaching, that 
he made up his mind that he would not go again. He 
went home and said to his family, ''That man is mad, 
and I should not be surprised if he set the town on 
fire." He stayed away from the meeting for some two 
weeks. In the mean time the work became so great as 
to confound his scepticism, and he was in a state of great 
perplexity. He was president of a bank in Utica, and 
used to go down to attend the weekly meeting of the 
directors. On one of these occasions one of the 
directors began to rally him on the state of things in 
Rome, as if they were all running' mad there. Mr. 
H — remarked, "Gentlemen, say what you will. 



INFIDELITY. 185 

there is something very remarkable in the state of 
things in Rome. Certainly no human power nor 
eloquence has produced what we see there. I cannot 
understand it. You say it will soon subside. No 
doubt the intensity of feeling that is now in Rome 
must soon subside, or the people will become insane. 
But, gentlemen," said he, "there is no accounting for 
that state of feeling by any philosophy, unless there be 
something divine in it." After Mr. H — had stayed 
away from the meeting about two weeks, a few of us 
assembled one afternoon to make him a special subject 
of prayer. The Lord gave us strong faith in praying 
for him, and we felt the conviction that the Lord was 
working in his soul. That evening he came to meeting. 
When he came into the house, Mr. Gillett whispered 
to me as we sat in the pulpit, and said, " Bro. 
Finney, Mr. H — has come. I hope you will not say 
anything that will offend him." "No," said I, "but I 
shall not spare him." I chose my subject and 
preached. The Word took a powerful hold, and, as I 
hoped and intended, it took a powerful hold of Mr. 
H — himself. I think it was that very night when I 
requested, at the close of the meeting, all those who 
had been converted that day and evening to come for- 
ward and report themselves. Mr. H — was one who 
came deliberately, solemnly forward, and reported him- 
self as having given his heart to God. He appeared 
humble and penitent, and I have always supposed was 
truly converted to Christ. — From " Finney's Memoirs." 

/'/» a Universalist 

" I believe that God is too good to send anyone to 
hell : I'm a Universalist." Satan has deceived not a 



186 REVIVAL KINDLW&S. 

few into the surface thinking involved in the above 
statement. Such forget that such reasoning charges 
God with lying, for He has again and again declared 
that "these shall go away into everlasting punishment." 
They forget also that the very fact that God is " good " 
makes it impossible for Him to break His Word, and 
that His very "goodness" compels Him to keep His 
word and execute His laws. They forget that the 
sinner's doom is not by an arbitrary decree of God, but 
is self -chosen by him who deliberately chooses to drink 
from the poisoned cup of sin and dare the direful and 
eternal consequences of which God has clearly warned. 
They forget that in breaking God's law, rejecting His 
gospel, and quenching His Spirit, they are driving from 
them the very chariots of mercy which God has sent 
to rescue them from their peril. 

This error is like all other forms of infidelity which 
wrests or ignores whatever Scripture does not suit it. 
Its delusiveness is illustrated by the following incident, 
the truth of which is vouched for by a well known 
worker. * 

A Universalist boasted that he had no faith in 
the power of prayer. One day his horses ran away, 
and he was thrown under the harrow and barely 
escaped death. In his mangled condition he insisted 
that a pastor should be sent for to pray for him. Some 
one said, "I thought you did not believe in prayer." 
He answered, "There is nothing like a harrow to take 
the Universalism out of a man." 

A forceful comment on God's Word that " when his 
judgments are in the earth the people will learn 
righteousness." 



Infidelity. I8f 

"My Friends will Laugh at Me." — What if they 
do ? They may have a jolly time at your expense now, 
but it will be a short laugh that, if not repented of, will 
turn to an endless wail. It was of such that Christ 
said, " Woe unto you that laugh now ! for ye shall . . . 
weep." Which is better, — to sustain the derision of 
false friends for a little time here and have the favor 
of God and the good here and their plaudits through 
eternity, or to have the smiles of the unsaved here and 
their mockery and the frown of God forever } It is one 
or the other ; which shall it be .-' 

A little eight-year-old was brightly converted in one 
of our meetings. His big brother made sport of him. 
Instead of giving up Christ or getting vexed, he finally 
looked up into his brother's face and, with deep solemnity, 
said, "Will, you won't laugh in hell." Soon after this, 
"Will " too was on his knees pleading for mercy. 

"Don't Believe in Future Punishment." — Satan 
is well aware that if he can make people believe that 
there is no penalty to suffer from continuing in sin, 
that, to gain its present apparent delights, they will 
continue in his service. It was doubtless for this 
reason that Christ so persistently and vehemently 
reiterated His warnings of future peril, dwelling much 
more strongly on a hell to be shunned than a heaven 
to be gained. Many, however, have disregarded them, 
and, too late for repentance, have felt as a dying man of 
whom I knew who passed into eternity exclaiming, " I 
feel the fires of hell are kindling around me now ! " 

Taken at Their Word. — " Are there any here 
who are willing to take hell for their portion ? " The 



188 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

question was asked at a revival meeting by an earnest 
minister of Christ. Two young men promptly and 
defiantly arose. On their way home they had to cross 
a frozen lake. When near the middle the ice crashed 
beneath their feet, and both of their bodies sank 
beneath the icy waves, and their souls beneath the fiery 
billows of that doom which they had defied. " For 
their calamity shall rise suddenly, and who knoweth the 
ruin of them both.?" (Prov. 24: 22). — Rev. J. E. 
Arney. 

At Church Against His Will. — Where I am 
now laboring, a few months since, a man of some means 
was asked to give something for church expenses. 
With a horrible oath he refused, saying he would never 
go inside of the church. In less than three weeks he 
met with an awful accident, was suddenly killed, and, at 
his funeral services, his corpse was carried into the same 
church which he so defiantly vowed he would never 
enter. Thus another is added to the long catalogue of 
those whose end proves the truthfulness of God's Word 
that the expectation of the wicked shall perish. 

A Spiritualist Frightened. — In the village of P — 
where I once labored as a pastor, there lived a woman 
who was a spiritualist, very strong in her peculiar unbe- 
lief. Finally sickness entered her home, and she 
seemed to hear the tread of Death, whom she now 
thought had come to summon her into the eternal 
world. Like the morning mist her false views vanished, 
and she sent for a minister to come with Christly counsels 
and pray for her lost soul. 

What a commentary on the revealed truth that,' *' The 



INFIDELITY. 189 

light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of 
his fire shall not shine." 

A Warning to Triflers. — The infidels, to cast 
odium on the meetings, got up a mock prayer meeting. 
The wife of the ringleader, at whose house this meeting 
was held, became frightened and left. Her husband 
went insane before their meeting closed. He declared 
he was lost forever, and in a few hours he was dead. 
The next Sunday this man's funeral sermon was 
preached in the Methodist Church, by the pastor. 
This interposition of Providence put a stop to all oppo- 
sition to the revival, and the work of God went 
gloriously forward. — Selected. 

Not Satisfied. — Millions of unsaved ones are like 
the man who had listened to an infidel lecturer. When 
questioned in regard to it, he said : ** Yes, I am almost 
satisfied. I intend to send the lecturer a sack of corn ; 
but if he had quite satisfied me I would have sent him 



SECTION XL 

DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 

** Let me die the death of the righteous." 

A Cloud of Witnesses. 

*• I SEE Jesus." — Stephen. 

*'The best of all, God is with us." — John Wesley, 

'' Welcome this chain for Christ's sake." — John Huss. 

" Such singing ! do you not hear it } " — John Carey. 

** Bless you, there is no river here ! " — Bishop Haven. 

" I have got the victory, and Christ is holding out 
both hands to embrace me." — Rutherford. 

*' I would not change my joy for the empire of the 
world." — Sir Philip Sidney. 

" The celestial city rises full in sight — the sun goes 
down without a cloud." — Toplady. 

" God be with you, my dear children ; I have break- 
fasted with you, and I shall supper with my Lord Jesus 
Christ this night." — Robert Bruce. 

Victory over the Shadows. 

Thousands of itinerant ministers have " forsaken all " 
on earth that they may please their Master and win 
stars for His crown. 

Such are a million-fold repaid by the luxury of sacri- 
ficing for Christ, and then by the wonderful revelations 

C190J 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 191 

of God's grace as they exchange their legacy of labor 
here for the legacy of reward above. Rev. O. T. 
Thomas gives the following account of the death of 
Rev. J. C. Smith, who died at Terrell, Tex., August, 
18S9, after a ministry of many years. He says : — '^ 

" I have seen many die, but never such a complete 
victory over the last enemy. About midnight, Friday, 
the twenty-third, we saw that his end was approaching. 
I said to him, *Bro. Smith, you can't be with us 
long. Is there any message you would like to send to 
your brethren.^* His reply was, *Yes: tell them for 
me I have kept the faith, I have finished my course, 
and am ready to be offered.' Then his face lighted 
with radiance as he exclaimed, ' Glory be to God ! 
Glory be to God ! Glory be to God ! Hallelujah ! 
Hallelujah ! Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.' Then 
calling his son. Rev. P. L. Smith, to his bedside, he 
said, * My dear boy, be a faithful minister of Jesus 
Christ ; be a man of one work ; never turn aside to 
secularity.' Then in a most fervent prayer he com 
mended him to God. To his devoted wife he said, 
* My dear, you have been a precious, good wife to me, — 
all that any man could ask. You have never faltered. 
Now we must part, but we will meet in heaven.' I be- 
gan to sing, * Oh, how I love Jesus ! ' At once he took 
up the song, and his voice (as in the days of yore) rang 
out on the night air. Oh, what a halo of light encircled 
his brow ! Then he shouted, * Onward and upward 
to my legacy ! ' He continued in a state of rapture till 
about twelve o'clock on Saturday, when we thought he 
had gone into a state of unconsciousness. About four 
o'clock he awoke ^.s from sleep, shouting, * Victory 



192 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

over the shadows ! Victory over the shadows ! ' Then 
becoming quiet, he continued to breathe until five 
o'clock, Aug. 24. While the clock was striking, the 
death angel came, and his soul hastened to its reward." 

Filled with Heavenly Joy. 

Among the many men born in Virginia who 
served their generation and passed triumphantly above 
was Rev. W. S. Williams. While living he was a man of 
prayer and power with God, " A brother who roomed 
with him while assisting at a meeting of his charge, 
says that three times during the night he arose and 
wrestled in prayer for God's blessing on the meeting, 
which was answered the day following by pentecostal 
power. Sunday afternoon he was taken sick, and soon 
after being taken, remarked, ' Do not let my family 
know of my illness until after I am dead, for my wife 
is not well enough to come to me. My work is done, 
but all is well' All that kind friends and two attend- 
ing physicians could do was done to stay the hand of 
death, but in vain. He was perfectly conscious of his 
condition, and shouted aloud the praises of God, 
'Hallelujah! Glory to God!' and when urged not to 
shout, said, * I cannot help it ; my soul is filled with 
heavenly joy and gladness. I will soon be with Jesus.' " 

Ecstatically Triumphant. 

No record of what saving grace can do for the dying 
would be complete without the words of the sainted 
Payson. 

His physical suffering was inexpressibly intense. 
When asked by a friend if he could see any reason why he 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 193 

should be called thus to suffer, he said, " No, but I am 
as well satisfied as if I could see ten thousand reasons." 

And being asked, " Do you feel reconciled ? " he 
answered, ** Oh, that's too cold ! I rejoice, I triumph. I 
can find no words to express my happiness. It seems 
as if all the bottles of heaven were opened, and all its 
fulness and happiness have come down into my heart. 
If God had told" me some time ago that He was about 
to m.ake me as happy as I could be in this world, and 
that He should begin by crippling me in all my limbs 
and removing from me all my usual sources of enjoy- 
ment, I should have thought it a very strange mode 
of accomplishing His purpose. Now when I am a 
cripple, and not able to move, I am happier than I ever 
was in my life before, or ever expected to be. I am so 
near the eternal world that I can almost see as clearly 
as if I was there, and I see enough to satisfy me of 
the truth of the doctrines I have preached." 

" * Watchman, what of the night ? ' " was asked by 
one of the members of his church. " I should think it 
was about noonday," was the joyful answer. 

Again he said : " Death comes every night and 
stands by my bedside in the form of terrible convul- 
sions, every one of which threatens to separate the 
soul from the body. These grow worse and worse, till 
every bone is almost dislocated with pain. Yet, while 
my body is thus tortured, my soul is perfectly, perfectly 
happy and peaceful. I lie here and feel these 
convulsions extending higher and higher, but my soul 
is filled with joy unspeakable." 

Referring to a young man who, when dying, said, 
"The battle's fought, the battle's fought, but the 



194 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

victory is lost forever ! " he added, " But I can say, 
The battle's fought and the victory is won — the 
victory is won forever ! I have suffered twenty 
times as much as I could in being burned at the stake, 
while my joy in God so abounded as to render my 
sufferings not only tolerable but welcome." 

Mrs. Payson said to him, ** Your head feels hot and 
seems to be distended." With soul thrilled with the 
eternal raptures which already were bursting upon him, 
he said, " It seems as if the soul disdained such a 
narrow prison, and was determined to break through 
with an angel's energy, and I trust with no small por- 
tion of an angel's feeling, until it mounts on high. 
It seems as if my soul had found a new pair of wings 
and was so eager to try them that, in her fluttering, she 
would rend the fine net-work of the body in pieces." 

Thus Heaven came and kissed his soul away. 

Jl Glorified Deatli-Chamber. 

The following facts in regard to the closing scenes 
in the life of Rev. I. Dobbins, a member of the Detroit 
Conference, who went to paradise, from Marine City, 
July 31, 1886, were related to me by his widow. Father 
Dobbins had lived a long and useful Christian life. He 
was the grandfather of Mrs. William Mosher, the 
esteemed wife of the Methodist Episcopal pastor at 
Parma, Michigan Conference. 

Reviving from a fainting spell which had lasted 
nearly two hours, he exclaimed, " Oh, the atonement, 
the atonement ! Such a view as I have had of the atone- 
ment ! I am so happy ! . . . Like a cocoon, I am 
soon to burst my prison house and fly over the hills 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED, 195 

of eternity. . . . Oh, what a happy closing out of life 
this is ! " 

A prayer and praise meeting was held in his room. 
In the midst of it, seen by a number, a halo of 
heavenly light overspread his face and, clearly visible, 
flickered to and fro before him. He was inexpressibly 
happy, and said he felt " like rising from the bed and 
soaring away." 

On another occasion, shouting aloud the praises of 
God, his emotions overcame him, and he wept. When 
asked if he was feeling badly, he said, " Oh, no ; I'm so 
happy ! I had such a view of the heavenly world, and 
heard such delightful music ! Earth has nothing like 
it. . . . It seemed as if Jesus beckoned me to come 
unto Him. I answered, *0 Lord, I come, I come.'" 

He continued shouting for half an hour, and then 
said, "One such view is worth all the sufferings of 
this life." He said that he was not asleep, but had 
seen a vision so triumphant that he felt that " earth 
could not hold him." 

Very near the last, after suffering from a fearful 
spasm, he raised his left hand and said, " How the bliss 
and the glories of heaven will compensate for all these 
sufferings ! Oh yes, the light afflictions which are but 
for a moment shall work for me, for me, — yes, work 
for me, — a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory." 

Some friends came to bid him a final farewell. 
" Yes," he said to them, " you have now got to go home, 
but, -^ 

• ' * My heavenly home is bright and fair, 
Nor pain nor grief can enter there ; 
Its glittering towers the sun outshine, 
That heavenly mansion §hall be mine.' 



196 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

" Yes, shall be mine ; yes, forever mine, mine forever." 

Some one said '' poor " when speaking of him. He 
heard it and said, " Don't say poor. Yes, I am rich — 
richer than a Vanderbilt." 

The morning he went home he said to his compan- 
ion, ** Melissa, I want to give you the final kiss on earth. 
. . . Now I want you to remember that lonely hours 
will come, but stop and think that we will be an un- 
broken family in heaven." 

His final words were, " Good-by, — now I am tired 
and must rest. Amen, amen, amen." Thus he "fell 
asleep " to awake amid the rapturous scenes, glimpses 
of which, in these final hours, he had been permitted to 
behold. 

Triumphant Dying. 

Sister Gerry of Early, la., was failing in health. I 
called on her, and asked if she was saved ; she said 
she was. I then prayed with her and went away. 
After this she failed very rapidly. I saw her quite 
often ; at last, on Thursday, I saw her the last time 
in this world. She had called her children one by 
one to her bedside, and asked each one to love God 
and meet her in heaven. As they all stood crying, 
she said, "Do not mourn for me." Looking up 
into her husband's face she said, " I am going to 
leave these little ones, but am going to meet those 
little ones who have gone before." As I entered 
I said, "Sister Gerry, how is heaven.? Are your 
prospects bright ? " She nodded her head, for it 
was difficult for her to speak. At last she drew 
her brother's ear close to her lips, and faintly 
whispered, — 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 197 

** * 'Tis so sweel to trust in Jesus, 
Just to take Him at His Word, 
Just to rest upon His promise, 
Just to know, "Thus saith the Lord." ' " 

Also the chorus of this blessed hymn. Then saying, 
" Blessed Jesus," she passed away. — Rev. E. L. 
Thompson, Early, la. 

The Last Call. 

This case we are glad to mention. The first summer 
and autumn after we moved to this place, we noticed a 
young man in our Sabbath services, who appeared very 
thoughtful. In the winter we became acquainted with 
him, and were deeply burdened for his salvation. His 
excuse for not making a start was, he did not like to 
leave his unsaved companions, and was afraid he would 
not live faithful. But one evening at a prayer meet- 
ing, a few of the saved young men surrounded him, and 
urged him to give up to God. Finally he fell upon his 
knees in prayer and yielded to the heavenly call. 
That night, before he left the house, he asked the for- 
giveness of different individuals, and from that time 
began making every wrong right and living a correct 
life. In a few months he was convicted for entire sanc- 
tification, and sought and obtained the blessing. He 
often testified to the power of the cleansing blood. His 
companions he feared to leave seemed to respect and 
love him all the more for the noble stand he had taken. 
He dreaded the battle of life before he entered the 
Christian field, but was a happy soldier from the time 
he enlisted. And he did not have the battle long 
before him ere he bore off the victor's palm. He testi- 



198 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

fied in prayer meeting, ** I obeyed my last call ; if I had 
not yielded then, I never should." That same week 
he was taken sick with the typhoid fever, and only 
stayed here two weeks. At times he was powerfully 
blest, and clapped his hands and praised God aloud. 
He had that sweet victory in his soul all of the time, and 
told his mother that God was in his sickness. He 
fell asleep, to wake no more in the flesh, but the 
shining light of his godly life has not gone out of this 
community. O young woman, young man, you may 
be hearing your last call ! Heed it now. Do not dread 
the battle ; to you it may not be long. 

" Stand up, stand up for Jesus, 
The strife will not be long ; 
To-day the noise of battle, 
The next the victor's song." 

— LuRA Mains. 
Just in Time. 

In a meeting in Van Buren County, a very healthy 
looking young man from an adjoining neighborhood 
gave his heart to God. He often testified to the 
change God had wrought in his soul, stating that he 
had no longer any desires for worldly pleasures, but was 
perfectly happy in the service of God. He desired us 
to hold meetings in his neighborhood. We made our 
next appointment there. On opening the meetings, 
we found him absent, and was told that he was ill. We 
visited him, and found him the same happy convert. 
He said to me, " I am just as happy here as I was in 
church." In a few days he was called to his heavenly 
home. He had obeyed his "last call." If he had 
waited to start for heaven until the meetings had 



DEATH SCEN 1:8 OP THE SAVED. l99 

Opened in his neighborhood, he would not have started 
at all, but gone empty handed into the other world. 
While he lived, but was well, he was busy gathering 
for God. The night after his funeral was the young 
people's meeting, and many there pledged themselves 
to meet him in heaven. — Lura Mains. 

A Glimpse into Paradise. 

Such incidents as the following, present conclusive 
proof that we shall meet and recognize in paradise the 
loved and saved whom we have known on earth. The 
following description of his mother's death is contributed 
by Rev. D. Engle, who says that " it was worth a life- 
time to be in her presence " during those closing hours 
when she was lingering in the border-land. 

"It was the fifteenth of August, 1889. I had been 
with my dying mother nearly all the time for two weeks. 
It was evident she was leaving earthly scenes. There 
was no disease. It was simply hfe's forces breaking 
from age and infirmity, for she was over eighty-two 
years of age. 

" At seven o'clock in the morning, after a deep, weary 
sleep of twelve hours, from which it was thought that 
she would never awake, she suddenly aroused. She 
was cheerful, and spoke to the members of the family, 
asking them to meet her in heaven. 

" She bade them good-by, and in a few moments was 
again in the deep hazy sleep of apparent death. At 
half-past eleven she aroused again in the death throes. 
For a few minutes she seemed to be in the terrible 
ordeal. At her request we raised her up. She was 
sitting quite straight, and was perfectly conscious. 



200 HEVIVAL KINDLINGS, 

*Now it is stormy,' she said, repeating it two or three 
times. 

" In a few moments all this was past. She was 
composed ; and looking up, her eyes became fixed. 
She could not hear nor see things of this world. 
Her spirit seemed poised on the borders of the spirit 
land, while she turned her head from side to side, as if 
gazing at the wonders of the new world. The organs 
of speech were still under the control of the spirit life. 

" Now came the sublime. * See ! ' she said ; and then 
raising her hand as if to greet some one, she called the 
name of a departed daughter. Then, sometimes repeat- 
ing the name, and always seeking to extend her hands 
as if in greeting, she called the names of a departed 
husband, father, two sisters, and .eight or ten others 
with whom she was dearly related in this world, and 
who had departed from this world, some as long as fifty 
years before. 

" In fifteen or twenty minutes her voice failed ; then, 
with the same peering gaze, she continued the same 
slow, measured breathing, each breath growing more 
feeble until she breathed her last, without the movement 
of a muscle." 

Thus, even at the portals bright 

Of their fair heavenly home, 

God's children meet the radiant forms ♦ 

Of those before them gone. 

Saved. 

Rev. R. N. Price of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
South reports to the Nashville Advocate the fol- 
lowing incident as occurring in a revival which was 
conducted by him in December, 1889, at Morristown, 
Tenn. 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 201 

" A token of triumph in the meeting was a public 
acknowledgment of his sins by Col. J. M. Bewley, a 
leading citizen of the town and one of the railroad tax 
assessors of the State. He arose and made his ac- 
kmowledgment, and asked the prayers of the church. 
All the Christians present wept with him, and gave him 
their hands in pledge to pray for him. He then knelt 
at the altar, and continued to kneel from day to day 
till peace was spoken to his heart. He ate a hearty 
Christmas dinner ; in a few minutes he had a stroke of 
apoplexy, and died next morning. On the twenty- 
seventh I preached his funeral sermon to the largest 
week day audience ever assembled in daylight in 
Morristown for worship. During the meeting one 
hundred and eleven souls professed religion, and they 
are joining the various churches of the town and vicin- 
ity. God be praised ! " 

" / Was Pari Way Over." 

When Carrie Carman, with whom the author was 
personally acquainted, as pastor, came to the "river's 
margin," perfectly conscious, " she gazed upward, and 
exclaimed, ' Beautiful ! beautiful ! beautiful ! ' One 
asked, ' What is so beautiful .? * — * Oh, they are so 
beautiful!' — ' What do you see V — ' Angels ; and they 
are so beautiful' — ♦ How do they look V — ' Oh, I can't 
tell you, they are so beautiful' — * Have they wings } ' — 
' Yes, and — hark ! hark ! they sing the sweetest of any- 
thing I ever heard.' — * Do you see Christ ? ' — * No ; but 
I see the Holy City that was measured with the reed, 
whose length and breadth and height are equal, and whose 
top reaches to the skies ; and it is so beautiful ! I can't 



202 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

tell you how splendid it is.' Then she repeated the 
verse beginning, * Through the valley of the shadow 
I must go.' She then spoke of the loneliness of 
her husband, and prayed that he might have grace to 
bear his bereavement, and that strength might be given 
him to go out and labor for souls. [They were expect- 
ing soon to enter the ministry.] She also prayed for 
her parents, asking that they might make an unbroken 
band in the beautiful city. She closed her eyes and 
rested a moment, and then looked up with beaming 
eyes and said, 'I see Christ, and oh. He is so beautiful ! ' 
Her husband asked again, 'How does He look V — 'I 
can't tell you ; but He is so much more beautiful than 
all the rest.' Again she said, *I see the Holy City.* 
Then, gazing a moment, she said, ' So many ! ' — * What 
do you see of which there are so many }' — * People.' — 
' How many are there ? ' — * A great many more than I 
can count.' — ' Any you know }* — ' Yes, a great many.* 
— ' Who V — ' Uncle George and a lot more. They are 
calling me. They are beckoning to me.' — ' Is there any 
river there.-*' — 'No; I don't see any.' Her husband 
then said, ' Carrie, do you want to go and leave me .'* ' — 
'No ; not until it is the Lord's will that I should go. I 
would like to stay and live for you and God's work. 
His will be done.' Presently she lifted her eyes and 
said, ' Oh, carry me off from this bed ! ' Her husband 
said, 'She wants to be removed from the bed.' But 
his father said, 'She is talking with the angels.' 
When asked if she were, she replied, 'Yes.' She then 
thanked the doctor for his kindness to her, and asked 
him to meet her in heaven. She closed her eyes, and 
seemed to be rapidly sinking away. Her husband kissed 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 203 

her, and said, * Carrie, can't you kiss me ? * She opened 
her eyes and kissed him, and said, ' Yes ; I can come 
back to \i\ss yo?i. I was part way over.' She said but 
little more, but prayed for herself and for her friends. 
Frequently she would gaze upward and smile, as though 
the sight were very beautiful." 

Triumphant 

" Behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is the 
day of salvation." A lady, attending revival meetings and 
becoming deeply interested in her soul's salvation, was 
led to give her heart to Christ, and soon after she went 
forward in baptism and united with the church. A few 
days after, by the accidental upsetting of a kerosene 
lamp, her clothing was in flames, and she was so badly 
burned that she lived but a few hours ; but for her death 
had no terror. As her loving companion stood by her 
bedside, her feet already pressing the chilly wave, she 
sang, — 

" Hallelujah 'tis done, I believe on the Son, 
I am saved by the blood of the crucified One." 

Then she sang, " 'Tis with the Righteous well." 
This dear lady improved what turned out to be her last 
opportunity. Will you improve the present moment > 
It may be your only chance. 

During the same series of meetings a young man, 
son of a minister, went forward, and found Christ to be 
precious to his soul. He too went forward in baptism 
and united with the church. By and by sickness 
came to him unexpectedly, and in a few days death 
claimed him ; but in those last moments, as mother and 



204 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

father and other loved ones stood around his dying 
couch, he exclaimed, " Mother, don't you hear the 
angels singing ? " They told him they didn't hear 
them. Said he, "I hear them." And thus this dear 
young man passed away to be in the company of the 
angels and sing on the other shore the song of 
redeeming love. — Contributed. 

Released by Fire. 

That God's grace is able to sustain the martyr, burn- 
ing at the stake, has been repeatedly and abundantly 
verified, as triumphantly they thus have passed into 
paradise. But is it equally as able to give victory to 
one who is burned to death without the stimulus that 
must come from the knowledge of wearing a martyr's 
crown } That it is is shown from the death of a sister 
of Miss Maggie Townley, one of Michigan's faithful 
women evangelists. 

Her sister was burned to death in her bright and 
promising young womanhood, at the age of twenty-two, a 
little more than three years after her conversion. Her 
clothing caught fire by an accident. Her grandmother 
flew to rescue her, but, lest she too should catch fire, 
ran from her, and the girl became so severely burned be- 
fore rescued that she died in a few hours. 

" In the midst of intense suffering," writes her be- 
reaved sister, "her words concerning the reunion which 
soon should be were full of comfort and of cheer to all 
who came to see her, and to our poor, crushed, and 
bleeding hearts. 

" 'Mother,' she said, *all is well ; it will not be long; 
only a little while and we all shall meet again.' 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 205 

" She rested a little, and then looked up as if she saw 
sights to us unseen, and said, * Oh, it's beautiful ! ' 

" Mother bent over her to catch her words and said, 
* What is it, Sarah ? ' 

"A heavenly smile of indescribable loveliness illumed 
her face, and repeating, ''Tis beautiful!' she fell back 
on her pillow, and fell asleep, tq.open her eyes on the 
beautiful vision that had made her dying bed as soft as 
downy pillows are." 

" He doeth all things well : 
We say it now with tears, 
But we shall sing it with those we love, 
Through the bright eternal years." 

" One Sweetly Solemn Thought" 

" Sister, let us sing a song." They sang the one 
beginning with the above words. He started for his 
work, but took only a few steps when he returned and 
said, " Sister, I feel very strangely to-day ; let us sing 
that song again." They sung it, closing with the 
petition, — 

" Be near me when my feet 

Are slipping o'er the brink ; 
For I am nearer home to-day 
Perhaps than now I think." 

Then the young man went to his work, and in a few 
minutes was killed by an accident. 

His last song proved prophetic of his death. 
It was well with him. 



A minister's daughter in Michigan was sitting at the 
organ with this same piece before her. Her brother 
entered the room and, in sport, ''just to frighten her," 



206 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

placed a revolver which he thought was empty to the 
back of her head, and pulled the trigger. She fell dead. 
It was loaded; and the sweet, unsuspecting young lady, 
by this criminal foolhardiness of her brother, was thus 
ushered into eternity, and the song before her seemed 
prophetic of her tragic death. 

She too was ready. Reader, are you .? 

An Echo from the Border-Land. 

When pastor at Montague, Mich., I was called to 
what proved to be the death-bed of Mrs. G. Lilly. I 
baptized her and received her into the church. She 
went home to God triumphantly. She was young, and 
in the morning of wedded life. She was brightly con- 
verted during her last sickness, and with many tears 
urged her unsaved friends to repent. She gave expres- 
sion, a little while before her death, to the following 
statement and appeal to the unconverted : — 

*' Dear Friends J — Listen to the words of a poor, 
dying mortal. My parents died before I can remem- 
ber. I had praying friends. When young, I knew I 
ought to be a Christian, but I would not yield. 
I attended revival meetings, listened to prayers and 
entreaties, trembled and wept, but would not yield. I 
would go from such scene's and try to drown my convic- 
tions in gay society, but could not fully succeed. Con- 
science, my better judgment, and God's truth, all told 
me I was wrong, and in the midst of mirth I often was 
miserable. I would often awake from my sleep and 
think, ' Oh, I've got to die ! Oh, what then will 
become of me .>* ' Such thoughts were thorns in my 
pillow, and oh, how they pierced me ! I married, Th§ 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 207 

world looked bright. Its charms dazzled me more and 
more. I became more thoughtless. We planned for 
this life, and this life alone. I was proud. We had no 
Bible. I often thought we must get one, not to read, 
but because it would be so mortifying not to have one 
should a minister come in. I enjoyed life's blessings, 
but never thanked the Giver of them. I never thought 
that trouble would come, until I was sick. I suffered 
much, and came very near to death, but would not 
yield to God. 

"Then came consumption. Then I knew that I 
must die. I saw myself, a poor, helpless, guilty, 
undone sinner, dying without a ray of hope. I knew 
that if I died so I would be lost forever. I saw my 
sinfulness in such a light that it seemed as if God 
never could forgive me. I was in an awful state of 
mind. I groaned and wept, and finally began to pray. 
I gave up all, — my husband, my babe, the world, and 
everything. Then, somehow, I was led to see that 
Jesus died for even poor lost me, and then, oh, 
such a peace filled my heart ! Oh, how I thanked God 
for His forbearance with me, for my sickness that had 
led to my salvation, and all His great goodness to me ! 
My enjoyment now is greater than I can tell. I know 
that Jesus will do just what He agrees to. I would be 
willing to live if my Father thought best, but I feel 
that that is not His will. My regret is that my life has 
been wasted ; that I have done nothing for Jesus. 
Thoughts of that cause me sharp pain. I cannot con- 
fess Christ in the meeting : gladly would I if I could ; 
but I do to all who come to see me. I cannot pray 
there : gladly would I if I could ; but I do pray for 



208 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

unsaved ones here. With my Uttle one, I have been 
baptized here in this room, from which I am daily 
expecting my Saviour to call me. I have united with 
the church. Friends look at me and say, ' She's chang- 
ing for the worse.* I think, ' For the better.' I dread 
no 'river' nor * dark valley.' A little while ago I 
thought, 'Surely now I'm dying.' My heart beat just 
a little bit faster ; I prayed ; Jesus stilled it, and all 
was bright and cheerful. The sweetest words to me 
now, outside the Bible, are these : — 

" * One sweetly solemn thought 
Comes to me o'er and o'er, 
I'm nearer my home to-day, 
Than I have been before. 

" * Nearer my Father's house. 

Where the many mansions be, 
Nearer the great white throne. 
Nearer the crystal sea. 

" ' Nearer the bound of life, 

"Where burdens are laid down, 
Nearer to leave the cross, to-day, 
And nearer to the crown. 

" * Be near me when my feet 
Are slipping o'er the brink, 
For I am nearer home to-day, 
Perhaps than now I think.' " 

**0h, if you only knew the peace that's mine, you 
would not continue in sin, away from Christ. Oh, do 
not, like me, wait for affliction to wake you from the 
sleep of sin, but now repent, believe, and love the 
Saviour ! " 

She warned others not to resist as she did, lest, 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED, 209 

unlike her, in their closing days and hours they should 

be bereft of reason and power to think and act. Her 

sick-room seemed like the antechamber of heaven. 

Her last words were, " It's glory for me ! It's glory for 

me!" 

Triumph of Mrs. Knapp. 

Sept. 5, 1890, Mrs. Lucy Glenn Knapp, the wife of 
the author of this book, passed into paradise. Her 
closing days were those of great pain but holy triumph. 

The following were among the many triumphant 
words which passed her lips as she was lingering in the 
border-land. 

"O Lord, I thank Thee for this complete abandon- 
ment to Thee ; that I can find no point that is not all 
given up to Thee." 

" O God, it seems monotonous to come to Thee 
again for help, we have come to Thee so many times ; 
but Thou hast shown us that it pleases Thee to help us, 
and so we come." 

" We thank Thee for a salvation that keeps from sin, 
that keeps every hour, that keeps day and night ; that is 
the kind we want, — one that keeps from sinning and 
keeps all the time." 

Referring to a temptation which a friend had, to think 
that God was cruel because He had the power to help 
and still let her suffer so, she said, " Oh, we are finite 
and know so little! He knows the reason, and it is all 
right. ' Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.' '* 

" This may be my last day. If I go I don't want any 
funeral sermon, but a salvation praise service, because 
a saint has reached heaven." 

After a season of terrible suffering she said, "I 



V 

SlO Revival KiNDLmm> 

would be willing to live like this one million years, if in 
this way I could win one soul to Christ each year — 
only one. That don't seem very ambitious ; does it ? " 

" O God, Thou art so good we can trust Thee where 
we cannot see the way. May Thy will be done." 

" I had rather go to heaven than anywhere else in 
the universe, but I don't want to sneak in. I want to 
go in God's time and way." 

In the midst of a sinking spell, in which she and we 
thought she was going, a blessed baptism of the Holy 
Spirit came upon her and she sang, " Praise the Lord, 
O my soul, Glory, hallelujah ! " We urged her not to 
exert herself so. She said, ** He is so good I cannot 
keep still I must praise Him." 

"I feel well for all worlds." 

** It seems as if I have been to the threshold of 
heaven and seen Charlie [her brother who died last 
December] with a radiant face beckoning me to come." 

" I felt as if my spirit was part way out of my body, 
and an unseen power was pulling me up into heaven." 

" Why Do You Call Me Back .? " — Yes, the Bible, 
put it where you will, is always appropriate. For the 
dying head, oh, what a pillow is the Bible ! I often 
think that when I come to die I shall want my pocket 
Bible, my family Bible, and all my children's Bibles, for 
my pillow. I once stood beside the death-bed of a 
young man whose head and heart were pillowed on the 
Bible. His mother bent over him, when we thought 
he was almost gone, and said, " Charlie, do you know 
me.-*" There was no answer; and the broken-hearted 
mother asked again, keeping down her sobs, ** Charlie, 
do you know me ? " Then the glazed eyes were lifted 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 211 

to her face, and the failing voice said gently, "O 
mother, why do you call me back ? I was half way up 
the stairs." That's it. Dying is an ascent ; it is a 
rising up; it is only going upstairs. — From "The Boy 
Preacher." 

A Child Triumphant in the Flames. — I have 
heard of a Sunday school pupil who perished in a 
burning building. Friends tried to rescue her, but 
their every effort failed, and they were compelled to 
give her up to die. As the flames neared her they 
heard her voice clear and sweet, singing a song expres- 
sive of the victory which Christ gave her in that trying 
hour. It was, — 

" Let others seek a home below 
Where flames devour and waves o'erflow; 
Be mine a happier lot to own 
A heavenly mansion near the throne. 

" I'm going home, I'm going home, 
I'm going home to die no more." 

And thus, through the smoke and flame, her bright 
young spirit passed to its mansion in the city whose 
Builder and Maker is God. 

** I Must Go." — A little girl, Gussie Krafcht, was 
in the habit of coming to church and Sunday school. 
She was taken sick and died here. Before she died, she 
selected some hymns for them to sing, and helped to 
sing them when her lips were blue. After singing, she 
pointed to something in the room, telling her papa to 
look. She said, " Jesus has sent the angels after me ; " 
but her papa could not see anything. She had no fear, 
although only ten years old; and finally, looking up 
into papa's face said, " Papa, I cannot stay with you 



212 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

any longer; I must go to Jesus." So saying, with a 
smile on her dear little face, she passed the portals and 
swept through the gates of the New Jerusalem, washed 
in the blood. — Rev. E. L. Thompson, Early ^ la. 

Wesley Dies Praising. — John Wesley died, as he 
had lived, triumphant. As his final hour on earth drew 
near he exclaimed, "I the chief of sinners am, but 
Jesus died for me " ; a little later, " There is no way 
into the holiest but by the blood of Jesus." Then he 
sang triumphantly, " I'll praise my Maker while I've 
breath." Then collecting all his remaining strength and 
realizing the inestimable blessing of the divine pres- 
ence in that hour, he exclaimed, " The best of all is, 
God is with us." His friends knelt in prayer, Bradshaw, 
his companion in many a journey, leading, when the 
dying saint exclaimed, " I'll praise ! I'll praise ! " And 
with a whispered "■ Farewell," his soul plumed its wings 
and ascended to its eternal home. 

Death of Carvosso. — God called him from work 
to reward. He was ready. He went by the way of 
the fiery furnace of affliction, but he did not flinch. 
While tried in the furnace, he said, ** I have been 
looking for my sins, but cannot find any of them ; 
they are all gone." The dross was consumed, but the 
gold the brighter shone. He paused a little while on 
the margin of the spirit world. Here "his heart 
seemed to dance with rapture." While entering para- 
dise, he repeated the verse, *' Praise God from whom 
all blessings flow," and then began to sing it ; and thus 
singing praises, he passed into the world of spirits, there 
to shine forever. 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 213 

" Clear and Shining." — Rev. W. Martin was a 
pioneer minister in Georgia. He died at Columbia, 
N.C., Jan. lo, 1889. His ancestors ''had stood with 
Knox and signed the solemn league." It is said that 
the soul of his theology was "Jesus and him crucified." 
*1 In his last illness no cloud obscured his sky. A day 
or two before his death, he opened his eyes and said, 
*0h, what a sweet season of peace ! I have had such 
nearness to God ! He has made my way clear and 
shining up to Him.' Toward the close whispering, 
* What a calm ! ' he passed without a struggle or fear 
into the presence of his Saviour." 

" I AM Going to Heaven." — When Rev. William 
Dore of the Tennessee Conference, Methodist Epis- 
copal Church South, was about to leave this world, he 
turned to Dr. Young, who stood beside his bed, and 
said, " I am no more afraid to die than I would be to walk 
out of that door. Depend upon it, the gospel we have 
been preaching is true. I am going to heaven ; what 
shall I tell the brethren for you ?" 

The Anchor Holds. — Rev. T. A. Sowell passed 
triumphantly from earth to heaven, at Nashville, Tenn., 
Feb. 28, 1889. He had been in the ministry for 
over fifty years. A little while before he passed away 
a friend asked, " Does your anchor hold ? " With a 
smile of joy he quickly answered, "Yes, sweetly." 
Soon after he said, " I think no more of dying than I 
would of walking across that floor." 

"It is all Light." — Among the many golden 
words which fell from the lips of Bishop Gilbert Haven 



214 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

in his dying hours, were the following : " It is so 
delightful dying ! It is so pleasant, so beautiful ! The 
angels are here. God lifts me up in His arms. I cannot 
see the river of death. There is no river ; it is all light. 
I am floating away from earth up into heaven. I am 
gliding away unto God." 

"The Very Gate of Heaven." — "This chamber 
has been to me the dearest place I have ever seen ; it 
is the very gate of heaven, because of the precious 
communings my Saviour has granted to me here," 
triumphantly exclaimed Dr. B. F. Cocker of the Michi- 
gan State University, a short time before he was 
summoned from earth away. 

" Free." — When Rev. S. A. Phillip of the Michigan 
Conference closed his earthly career, " his faith seemed 
to intensify and absorb all his waning powers till it 
mastered all other forces of his nature," and he died 
sending back the victorious testimony, "Tell them 
that I am free ! Tell them all I'm free ! Victory, 
victory, victory ! " 

He SAW THE Crown. — When Rev. Israel Cogshall 
of Michigan was about to enter the gates of gold, he 
"raised himself up in bed, inclined his head, and 
reached out his right hand." When asked what he 
would have, he said, "I am reaching for my crown." 
In a little while he crossed the river to receive the 
promised crown. 

Exultant. — When Rev. Frank L. McCoy, editor 
of the Ijidiajz Witness, and a personal friend and 
conference class-mate of the author of this book, was 



DEATH SCENES OF THE SAVED. 215 

about to depart, he said, " * My Jesus, as Thou wilt,' that 
is my hymn " ; and when near the end he cried out, ** Lift 
me up and I will show how a Christian can die." 

** I DO NOT Fear." — A short tim^e before Mrs. J. B. 
Russell, Carleton, Mich., passed into eternity, knowing 
that she was nearing it, she said, "The past has been 
an uneven way, but thank God there has been an even 
hand to lead us. I do not fear to pass over, for I know 
whom I trust, and He will not forsake me." 



SECTION XII. 

DEATH SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 
" And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments." — Jesus. 

"I Want Mercy." 

Rev. C. a. Jacokes of Michigan Conference gives 
the following incident. He knew the man and the 
circumstances. 

Mr. was a man of wealth and of a wide 

influence, a frequent attendant of church, and kindly 
disposed towards Christianity. However, he cherished 
rebellion in his heart and would not yield to God. 
When his final sickness came he sent for a class-leader 
to pray with him, and himself pleaded for mercy. 

A godless neighbor entered and advised that he play 
cards to drive gloomy thoughts away. 

" Talk of playing cards to a dying man ! Sir, you 
don't know how contemptible it sounds. I want mercy ! " 
was his response." 

Shortly before he passed away, his son asked if he or 
any of them could do anything to aid him in any busi- 
ness transactions. 

"My son," said the dying man, '^ I have made a great 
iniistake. J set out in life to gain wealth, and I have 
.^^ucceeded, but am unprepared to die. The heirs and 
tthe law will have Xo .take xar.e .of .the property : the 



DEATH SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 217 

little time I have left I must spend in preparing for 
eternity." 

It seemed as though his eyes were opened to view a 
wasted life, and to see the Eternity which he, in his 
rejection of Jesus, had chosen, and fearful of impending 
doom he sought for refuge, but could find none. He 
died, leaving no assurance of salvation. 

" Then shall they call upon me and I will not answer. 
They shall seek me early and shall not find me." — Bible, 

"I Am Not Penitent/' 

The following scene is described by Evangelist 
Caughey : — 

Upon the bed of his last sickness lay a dying infidel. 
He was asked a question, to which his countenance 
replied, before he had uttered a word : '' Are your 
principles sufficient to sustain you in this trying hour ? " 
He answered sternly, " No ; " and after a pause, unable 
to restrain his feeling, he exclaimed, " Surely I. am the 
greatest fool in the world to have become the dupe of 
wicked and designing men ; I am justly consigned to 
that hell, the idea of which I once laughed at." Offers 
of pardon through the blood of the Lamb were freely 
presented and sadly and sullenly put away. He heard 
the exhortation with patience, till " penitent sinner " 
was mentioned ; when he cried, " Penitent sinner ! I am 
not penitent. It is the fear of eternal damnation that 
is at work upon my guilty soul ; this is nothing else but 
a pledge and foretaste of the misery of the damned. 
Eternal fire ! eternal fire ! who can dwell with everlast- 
ing burnings ? My body cannot live and my soul dare 
not die. Oh, that I had another day ! -but this would 



218 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

be of no use ; I must perish, and reconcile myself to my 
lot as I can ; I am dying ! I am dying ! " A second at- 
tempt was made to turn his despairing conscience to the 
cross which he heard with more than usual patience. 
When the individual ceased, he became very restless, 
and at last shrieked fearfully, crying, " See ! see ! do you 
not see them ? They are come for me, I must go to 
my own place." The horror on his countenance was 
infernal. His last words were, "Damned, damned, for- 
ever damned!" 

Too Late. 

I had a neighbor who had a good wife and small 
children. They were much loved by all who knew 
them, but they lacked the one thing needful. When 
spoken to about his soul's salvation, he would say, "Yes, 
I know it is important and I intend to seek religion, but 
am too busy just now." In talking with a minister 
who loved him much, he promised to seek the Saviour 
as soon as he had gathered in his crop and had leisure. 
Soon after that promise he lifted a sack of grain and hurt 
himself; not thinking the injury was serious, he hoped 
to be over it very soon. But inflammation set in, and in 
a few days the physician had to inform him he must 
die. Oh, the despair that took possession of his soul. 
I went to see him : his house was filled with friends, and 
the yard was full of sympathizing citizens, A minister 
was by his bed pleadiUg with him to believe in Jesus, 
in the power of Christ to save. His response was, "Too 
late, too late ; you can pray, but it will do no good ; it is 
too late, too late, too late," and thehhe would throw his 
arms and toss from side to side of his bed in painful 



DEATH SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 219 

agony. I went to his bed : he took my hand, looked up 
in my face and said, " Why have you not been to see me 
before ? I have thought about you much. You did not 
put off seeking your soul's salvation like I have done." 
I tried to urge him to take hold on the Saviour and 
believe in Him as his Saviour. But with a look of deep 
remorse he began, *' Too late, too late, too late," rolling 
and throwing his arms in wild despair. Thus he con- 
tinued until his spirit passed away to the God who gave 
it, to the great Jehovah whose calls he had slighted, 
whose mercy he had rejected, until the Spirit had taken 
his everlasting flight. "My spirit shall not always 
strive with man, saith the Lord." — Mrs. E. Camb. * 
There is danger and death in delay. 

He Died Cursing. 

When a boy twelve years of age, living at home with 
my parents, our neighbor, Mr. B., was one of the wick- 
edest men I ever knew. He would curse the Almighty, 
curse the rain, curse the dry weather, curse his pious 
wife, curse his children, curse himself ; in fact, I never 
have heard as wicked a man. Suddenly he was taken 
very sick, and my father was summoned to assist in 
holding him in bed. Out of curiosity I asked father if 
I could go with him ; he gave his consent. On arriving 
at the house of the sick man, oh ! what bitter oaths 
were falling from his lips. So terrible was the sight to 
me that I begged my father to take me home. He 
cursed God, cursed his good wife, cursed his children, 
cursed himself, cursed the devil ; in fact, he cursed 
everything I suppose that he could think of. He told the 
people he saw hell and damned spirits, and would soon 



220 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

join them, and thus passed from time into eternity. Oh ! 
unsaved one, take warning. This man had passed 
through many revivals and been admonished again and 
again. Surely such " shall look unto the earth and 
behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish, and 
they shall be driven to darkness." — J. H. Orr. 

Damned. 

In the early part of my ministry, said the Rev. 
Timothy East, of Birmingham, a woman was in 
the habit of attending the place of worship where I 
preached, who occupied a seat on the stairs, and was 
veiy tenacious of her sitting, not allowing any other 
person to occupy it. Her friends sought occasion to 
converse with her on the important subject of religion, 
but she was very shy and evasive. All they could 
extract from her was this appalling reply, " Oh, I shall 
only want five minutes' time, when I am dying, to cry 
for mercy, and I have no doubt God Almighty will give 
it me." One day, as I was walking down the street, a 
young woman ran up to me, in a state of great excite- 
ment, exclaiming, *' Oh, Mr. East ! do come to my 
mother, sir ; come this minute, sir ; she is dying ! she 
is dying ! " I hastened with her to the house, and was 
astonished to find in the dying sufferer the poor, 
unhappy woman who had attended my place of worship. 
She was evidently expiring ; but turning her dying eyes 
towards me, she cried out, "Oh, Mr. East, I am 
damned, I am damned ! " and so expired. 

Friend, turn to God now. Delay is dangerous. Be- 
lieve the Gospel, and make sure of everlasting salva- 
tion. — Sel. 



DEATH SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 221 

A Backslider's Terrible Deaili. 

That the " arms of the wicked shall be broken " is 
forcibly illustrated by the following incident told by 
the widow of the wretched man. 

** Some years since I knew a man, a professing Chris- 
tian, and member of the M. E. church, who married a 
pure young girl of fifteen. The man kept up the 
appearance for six weeks only, and suddenly ceased to 
ask a blessing upon the meals and began to swear. He 
lived many years after, but constantly going farther and 
farther into sin and open blasphemy, often defying the 
Almighty and daring Him to thwart his plans. At 
last he forsook the sickly wife, taking with him 
the two oldest children, leaving one delicate little 
one in the arms of the heart-broken mother, and went 
into the State of Minnesota, where he. miserably 
perished in one of those terrible blizzards, alone with 
the Maker whom he had defied. His remains were not 
found for six months, and of course he had not even a 
Chistian burial." 

Persecutors, Beware! 

The following is vouched for by Rev. James L. Ivey, 
formerly a pastor at Jewells, Ga. 

" When I was seeking the Lord I was hindered by 
two men, who are both dead now. One of them was 

killed on the street of C s. When his family found 

his remains, the hogs were eating his blood. The 
other man put a pistol to his heart and fired, and rushed 
into the presence of his Maker. This year, during a 
meeting we held at N d, a young man, the son of a 



1^^ hevival kindlings. 

minister, was wild and would not yield. He was taken 
sick the day the meeting closed, and died in a week 
without salvation." 

It was doubtless of such persons as the two men 
mentioned that Jesus declared that it were better for 
them that a "millstone" were hanged about their necks 
and they were "cast into the midst of the sea." 

Bro. Jay also says : " While I was pastor of a church 

near M n, we held two protracted meetings. The 

people were convicted, but they resisted the Holy 
Spirit. In less than one month several people were 
dead, some of the people who said they were to live a 
long time." 

Truly, "He that being often reproved hardeneth his 
neek shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without 
remedy." 

How a Young Lady Gained a Dress but Lost Her Soul. 

The following incident was told me by a friend who 
was acquainted with the circumstances : — 

-A young lady who used to sing in operas and fashion- 
able concerts, was walking along the streets with a 
young gentleman one afternoon, and they came to 
a church in which revival meetings were being held. 
They were not in the habit of attending such meetings, 
but the singing so attracted the lady's attention, that 
she spoke to the gentleman about it and said : " Let us 
go inside and listen." — "You don't want to go in 
there," said he, "they are having revival meetings." 
But the longer she listened to the music the more she 
was impressed with the thought of going where she 
could hear better, and at last said, " I am going in the 



DEATH SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 22S 

church.'* So they both went in and took seats. The 
minister soon arose, and after reading his text, preached 
to the unconverted. It seemed to the young lady that 
every word he said was intended for her. She was con- 
victed, and left the church with the intention of living a 
different life. On reaching home where her uncon- 
verted mother was, the daughter said, " Mother, I am 
going to be a better girl." — ''What do you mean.^" 
asked the parent. 

" I mean, I am going to be a Christian." 

" Daughter, you don't know what you are talking 
about. You are too young to be a Christian. Religion 
is all right for old people, but you are just the age to 
enjoy yourself, and don't want to think of such things." 

The words of the mother did not change the good 
resolutions of the daughter. She still said, "I am 
going to live for God." A few days after this, she was 
called on to sing in a worldly entertainment, and 
refused because she had made up her mind to sing for 
God. As soon as the mother heard what her daughter 
had done, she was angry, and reproved her very 
severely. Seeing this did not accomplish her aim, she 
scoffed at her. Then she tried coaxing, and at last 
promised the daughter a new silk dress if she would do 
the required singing. 

This was a great temptation to the young lady, for she 
had been very fashionable and liked to dress so. After 
studying over the matter for a while, she said, " I will 
sing just once more to get the dress, but it will be the 
last time." She at once commenced preparation for 
the singing. Oh ! what happened then ? As soon as 
she began to associate with her old friends the desire 



224 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

for religion left her, and she said to herself : " I believe 
mother is right : I guess I am too young to be a Chris- 
tian. I will enjoy myself for a while yet, and when I 
get older I will seek God." How long did she enjoy 
herself ? A week after this she is taken very ill. Now 
she wants Christ. The minister she heard preach a 
short time ago is sent for. He and a few Christian 
friends come and pray for her. She, too, pleads for 
salvation, but finally says " It is no use, I have put off 
serving God too long — I can see the very gates of hell 
open to receive me." She now speaks to her mother 
and says: "Get me my new silk dress." After hes- 
itating a few minutes the mother gets it, and as she 
brings it near, the daughter says : " Hang it up there," 
pointing to a hook near the bed. After the dress is hung 
on the designated hook, she points to it and says : 
" Mother, that is the price of my soul," and passes into 
an endless eternity. — Mary Wheaton. 

"What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the 
whole world and lose his own soul } (Mark 8 : 36.) 

Thou Fool. 

On a beautiful summit, overlooking the city of San 
Francisco, there are five palatial mansions which stand 
to-day as silent monuments of the folly of hoarding 
earthly gain. Could they speak, No. i would say : 
" I cost my owner, with my contents, three and one-half 
millions of dollars, yet healthless, childless, and discon- 
tented, he has gone to other lands to pass from them — 
to where .? " 

No. 2 : " I cost one-half million, but he who was my 
owner is dead. Before he died his reason fled, and to 



DEATH SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 225 

a friend he made mention of me, saying : ' What infernal 
fool built that house ? ' When he died he left about 
forty millions of dollars in this world, but I fear he had 
made no provision for eternity ! " 

No. 3 : ** I cost three millions of dollars. The fence 
in front of me cost forty thousand dollars ; but my owner 
has become nearly blind, and giving up his business, is 
vainly seeking in other lands for health." 

No. 4 : '' My proprietor was a famous railroad adviser. 
He lavished fortunes upon me, but I was powerless to 
make him happy, or for one moment to secure him from 
Death." 

No. 5 : ^' Nearly one and one-half millions of dollars 
were spent in my erection ; and though my shutters 
were the best and bolts the safest, disease broke through, 
and my owner, seized by a sickness such as usually 
proves fatal, battled it for a time and then fell, like the 
veriest pauper, a victim to its remorseless power. Like 
my companion palaces I cannot buy health, nor hap- 
piness, nor fit for Heaven, and like them to-day, I am 
unoccupied by my owner." 

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, 
where moth and dust doth corrupt, and where thieves 
break through and steal ; but lay up for yourselves 
treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt, 
and where thieves do not break through and steal." 

Faial Waiiing. 

In January, 1885, the " Friends " held a series of spe- 
cial meetings in their settlement near Ashton, Iowa. A 
young lady by the name of Retta Jameson attended 
regularly each evening, accompanied by a young man 



226 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

to whom she was engaged to be married. She became 
anxious about her soul's salvation, and wanted to go for- 
ward for prayers ; but her companion said, " Not to- 
night, wait until to-morrow evening and perhaps I will 
go with you." Delighted with the thought that per- 
haps he might become a Christian also, she waited. 
The next night found them in their regular place, and 
she still anxious to go ; but he said, " Don't go yet, wait 
for me," and thus kept her from going night after night 
until the meetings were near to their close, and then he 
said : " Let us not start this winter ; we are young yet, 
and want to have a good time, and in the spring we will 
be married, and next winter when there is a revival, we 
can both go forward ; I will surely go with you if you 
will wait." She waited : they were married in the spring. 
In September I was appointed pastor of the M. E. 
Church at Ashton, and had only got moved when I was 
summoned to attend her funeral. She had gone to bed 
in usual health in the evening and at 3 a.m. was taken 
with violent spasms ; she soon became unconscious and 
died the same day, leaving no evidence of being saved. 
The thought of her dying unsaved, when she was 
" almost persuaded to become a Christian," brought a 
grief to her mother's heart that never again departed. 
— H. B. Green. 

"Te// Them My Soul is in Hell." 

A merchant once went to the Eastham camp-meeting 
with his pious wife, who was very anxious for his con- 
version. The spirit of the meeting troubled him, and, 
after one day, he resolved to leave his wife on the 
ground ^nd return home, 



DEATH SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 227 

"Do stay, my dear husband," entreated his wife; 
"you will be better pleased to-day, maybe, than you 
were yesterday." 

"No, my partner may need me in his business. I 
shall go," he replied. 

" But you made arrangements to be away a week ; do 
stay, husband, and maybe you will find salvation," 
rejoined his wife. 

" No, I must go. I will go. Indeed, I hate the place 
so much that if my soul would be eternally damned for 
going home I wouldn't stay here," was his awful answer. 

His horror-struck wife stood silent. Then turning 
on his heel, he hurried to the shore and sailed away 
from the camp-ground. 

On his arrival home he entered his store tired and 
hungry. Seeing a piece of bread and butter on the 
counter, he ate it. Fifteen minutes later his partner 
came in, and, after the usual salutation, looked round, 
and with a perturbed manner asked, — 

" What has become of the piece of bread and butter 
I left here .? " 

" I ate it," replied the merchant. 

" Ate it ! Dear me ! It was poisoned for the rats. 
You are a dead man. Hurry home in yonder hack, 
while I go for the doctor." 

The alarmed merchant was borne to his home. The 
doctor was soon with him. Antidotes were adminis- 
tered, but they were powerless to save. The poison 
was fiercely assailing the seat of life. The pains of 
death soon got hold upon him. He was in agony both 
of mind and body. 

" Have you any message for your wife 1 " inquired his 
distressed partner. 



228 REVIVAL KINDLINGS, 

This question recalled the camp-ground and the awful 
words he had spoken when leaving his wife. Gathering 
his remaining strength as for a last effort, he fixed his 
glaring eyes upon his friend and said, in piercing tones : 

" Carry my body to the camp-ground and tell them 
my soul is in hell ! " 

He sank back exhausted. The struggle was over. 
His life in the body had ended. His life in hell had 
begun ! 

Reader, are you in the habit of trifling with eternal 
things ? If so, let the horrible end of this merchant 
teach you that it is a " fearful thing to fall into the hands 
of the living God." Remember " God is a consuming 
fire." It is not safe to mock at Him, or at His truth. 
Beware ! — Se/. 

Missed H ai Last 

Some time ago, a physician called upon a young man 
who was ill. He sat for a little by the bedside, exam- 
ining his patient, and then he honestly told him the sad 
intelligence that he had but a very short time to live. 
The young man was astonished ; he did not expect it 
would come to that so soon. He forgot that death 
comes "in such an hour as ye think not." At length 
he looked up into the face of the doctor, and with a 
most despairing countenance, repeated the expression : 
"I have missed it — at last." 

''What have you missed.''" inquired the tender- 
hearted, sympathizing physician. 

" I have missed it — at last," again he repeated. 

" Missed what } " 

''Doctor, I have missed the salvation of my soul." 



DEATH SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 229 

" Oh, say not so ; — it is not so. Do you remember 
the thief on the cross ? " 

" Yes, I remember the thief on the cross. And I 
remember that he never said to the Holy Ghost — Go 
thy way. But / did. And now he is saying to me — 
Go yotir way. He lay gasping a while, and looking up 
with a vacant, starting eye, he said : " I was awakened 
and was anxious about my soul, a little time ago. But 
I did not want to be saved then. Something seemed to 
say to me, * Don't put it off, make sure of salvation.' 
I said to myself, I will postpone it. " I knew I ought 
not to do it. I knew I was a great sinner and needed a 
Saviour. I resolved, however, to dismiss the subject for 
the present. Yet I could not get my own consent to 
do it until I had promised to take it up again, at a time 
not remote and more favorable. I bargained away, 
resisted and insulted the Holy Spirit. I never thought 
of coming to this. I meant to have made my salvation 
sure, and now I have missed it — at last." 

"You remember," said the doctor, "that there were 
some who came at the eleventh hour." 

" My eleventh hour," he rejoined, " was when I had 
that call of the Spirit. I have had none since — shall 
not have. I am given over to be lost. Oh ! I have 
missed it ! I have sold my soul for nothing — a feather 
— a straw — undone forever!" This was said with 
such indescribable despondency, that nothing was said 
in reply. After lying a few moments, he raised his head 
and looking all around the room as if for some desired 
object, he buried his face in the pillow, and again 
exclaimed in agony and horror, " Oh ! I have missed it 
at last," and died. 



230 REVtVAL KINDLINGS. 

Reader, you need not miss your salvation, for you 
may have it now. What you have read is a true story. 
How earnestly it says to you, "Now is the accepted 
time ! " 

"To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your 
hearts. ' ' — Fire Brand. 

The Wages of Sin. 

A little girl whom I knew grew to womanhood under 
the influence of a godless home, where her childish lips 
were never taught to speak the name of Jesus in simple 
prayer, and where her ears seldom heard the name of 
God mentioned only when His name was used pro- 
fanely. 

When she reached young womanhood her associates 
were naturally those of the ball-room and similar places 
of amusement. As the result of home example her 
language was often vulgar, and frequently in outbursts 
of temper she was known to profane the name of God 
by oaths. 

At the age of eighteen she married. Her husband 
chanced to be a kind man ; but alas for him ! He soon 
found his kindness repulsed by the most obstinate 
wilfulness and selfishness on her part. Also her 
management of their little boy was wrong, in that she 
would indulge him at one time, and another for the 
same offence she would beat him, and would say that 
she could "murder" him — using even worse language 
than this to her little boy that was not beyond two 
years of age. 

Now follows the sad and terrible part of her mis- 
guided life : God gave her the opportunity to choose 



DEATH' SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 231 

Him and His service in a series of revival meetings held 
by Rev. M. W. Knapp in the place where she resided. 
She did apparently, for a time, seek the pardoning 
favor of God ; but it was soon seen that she had given 
up her interest in the salvation of her soul. 

After a few years of married life she fell ill of a 
disease of the most painful nature. — Without sustain- 
ing grace in her heart or any sense of God's favor or 
helpfulness, how did she bear her suffering ? 

She would sometimes wish to die, yet knew that she 
did not dare to die. Her sick-bed utterances were in 
keeping with those in which she had indulged all 
through her sinful life. In paroxysms of pain she used 
language that sounded like words from the lips of a 
demon. How was it in her last great agony when 
Death came to claim her for his own .-* 

She died as she lived. When the death struggle 
came she was seized with frenzy. Her husband and 
others fled from the room, unable to witness the scene, 
except one Christian lady, who, sustained by prayer, 
alone remained. 

The dying woman raised herself from the bed, 
clutching her throat and saying: "Cut my throat!" 
** Kill me ! " continuing to repeat the name of God 
in tones of mocking despair. She at last extended her 
fingers as if pointing at something unseen by others ; 
then hissed a serpent hiss ; after which she sank into a 
death slumber, and thus passed to the judgment. — E. G. 

An Awful Judgment 

The following incident from the pen of sister M. A. 
Sparling, Claremont, N. H., is an illustration of the 



232 REVIVAL KWDLIITGS. 

words of Holy Writ, that "the wicked is snared in the 
work of his own hands." She writes : "While reading 
'Echo from the Border Land' something said, You 
have an echo from the Mower region.' If it were 
father's will I'd love to stand up in your congregation 
and deliver the message ; I can now only write. A few 
years ago I was at a camp-meeting in Rockingham, Vt., 
and a gang of rowdies got together to set a time to 
break up the whole meeting. They lived eight miles 
away. So on Thursday evening they came on the 
ground to accomplish their fiendish work, and have 
their ' fun,' as they told some of their friends. Their 
plan was to lay trains of powder into every tent, under 
the beds, and when the town clock struck twelve, all 
were to touch fire to the powder and run to a distance, 
and see the frightened women and children run and 
scream. At ten, a distant thunder was heard, and 
while they were waiting for the hour to set fire, God 
sent one of the most terrific thunder and hail storms I 
ever witnessed. It had been a hot day and these young 
men had no overcoats to put on ; and as their last 
resort, after seeing their powder all wet and their plans 
all defeated, they were compelled to ride back to their 
homes, eight miles, all drenched with rain and chilled 
through. The ringleader had to be carried into the 
house benumbed. His mother tried for hours to get 
him warm. Then came a burning fever, and then 
he called his dear mother and told her what he had 
done, saying: 'Mother, I've got to die! Do pray! Do 
pray ! What shall i do .? Oh, how can I die ? ' She 
said: 'I never prayed.' 'Then call father,' cried the 
dying man. He could not pray. Then he cried : 



DEATH SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 233 

'What shall I do? Oh, how can I die!' Then he 
would clutch his hands and wring them in agony, 
crying, ' I can't die so ! I can't die so ! Mother, mother, 
do pray ! do pray ! ' 

'* The father went for a Baptist deacon, but before he 
arrived the boy was insane ; and with distorted eyes, 
hands uplifted over his head, and writhing in agony, he 
died raving, and among his last words were : * I'm going 
to hell ; I'm lost ! Lost ! Lost ! I can't die so ! I can't ! 
I can't ! Mother, 'tis awful to go to hell this way.' " 

This seems a fulfilment of the Word which declares 
of the wicked that ''trouble and anguish shall make 
him afraid ; they shall prevail against him as a king 
ready to the battle" (Job 15 : 24). 

" Suddenly Cut Off." — In Berrien Co., Michigan, 
there was a number of giddy scoffers. One night they 
went to a revival meeting. They hastened and got 
ahead of a load of Christians, and then to tease them, 
drove very slowly. 

At the meeting they continued to trifle. On the 
way home they repeated their former conduct, more 
blasphemous than before; sporting and praying in 
mockery. Little did they dream that sudden vengeance, 
from an insulted God, like the crashing of a thunder- 
bolt, quickly would fall upon one of their derisive 
number ! 

Within a week he was in the woods with a companion 
in sin, and a bullet crashed through his brain and he 
fell a corpse. Truly, "Judgments are prepared for 
scorners, and stripes for the backs of fools." — Rev. 
J. E. Arney. 



234 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

The Sin unto Death. — One young man attended 
most of the meetings at Wharton Street revival, but 
refused to give his heart to God. Somebody spoke to 
him about becoming a Christian. He said, " If I go to 
hell I expect to meet Mr. Harrison there." This 
showed a bitterness of soul that was far from being 
commendable. God had His eye upon him. After a 
time he was taken with small-pox, and died in two days. 
It is remarkable that a young lady pursued the same 
course of opposition to God in the same meeting, and 
she, too, was taken sick with the same disease, and 
died in about the same length of time after she was 
taken. These are solemn facts, given me by one of 
the pastors. To my mind they are clear cases of the 
"sin unto death." (See i John 5 : 16.)^ — From "The 
Boy Preacher." 

A Fatal Mistake. — A wealthy merchant was 
suddenly stricken with a fatal malady. Casting his 
dying eyes around the luxuriously furnished apartment 
in which he lay, and then fixing them upon his only 
daughter — for whose sake it may be, he had been eager 
in the pursuit of gain — he simply asked : " Nelly, have 
we not made a mistake after all } " What a volume of 
instructions do these words convey, and how lament- 
able that in any case, a mistake, whose disastrous effects 
may extend to Eternity, should be discovered only 
when to late too rectify it ! — Dougan Clark in Offices 
of the Holy Spirit. 

"I'm Lost! I'm Lost!" — A man came to one of 
our meetings, and was "almost persuaded" to yield to 
God, but he listened to false friends and his "feelings," 



DEATH SCENES OF THE UNSAVED. 235 

and neglected to decide. Quickly he was cut down, 
and when dying wailed, " I'm lost ! I'm lost ! ! I'm 
lost ! ! ! " 

Indecision has betrayed the souls of millions into the 
control of the destroyer. He seeks this moment to 
paralyze your powers of action, and will succeed unless 
you arise and with an " I will " of penitential determi- 
nation drive him from your heart. 

" Now is the accepted time ; now is the day of sal- 
vation." 

Eternal Death Through a Dance. — A young 
man boarding at our house attended revival service. 
It was near the 22d of February, at which time there 
was to be a dance. My brother and myself entreated 
him to settle the matter of his soul ; but he said, ** He 
must go to that dance, then he would get converted." 
The night for the dance came, he went, but afterwards 
he never had any convictions, and in the summer follow- 
ing he was drowned. Thus he went before his Maker 
with the matter unsettled. — Contributed. 

Hell Already Begun. — Salvation's day with the 
dying man was nearly done. He had lived Christless 
and now was dying hopeless. Friends hoped for the 
best, but as they listened they were almost stupefied 
with horror. " I feel," said the dying man, " the flames 
of hell are gathering round me now. I'm lost ! I'm 
lost ! I'm lost ! " 

No one present could but feel the truth of God's 
word that hell from beneath is moved to meet the 
wicked at their coming — Rev. J. Steffee. 



236 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

A Murdered Soul. — Mrs. Booth tells of a devoted 
worker whose lot it was to be with a giddy worldling 
when she came to die. " When he got to her bedside 
he found her fingers so fast locked in the tresses of her 
hair that it was vain to try to disentangle them, and 
she was screaming, " My soul is murdered, murdered ! 
It's too late, too late ! I'm lost, lost, lost ! " And thus 
she died. Oh, unsaved one ! every moment of delay 
invites a dying scene like this which shall prove to be 
the awful ante-chamber of a still more terrible Eternity. 

False Confidence. — In a Michigan town a man 
was killed while going home from meeting. Sinners 
said, "We are sorry, because Christians will make a 
handle of it." A self-confident boaster said, "God 
can't kill me as quickly as that." In a few days he was 
chopping, when a limb fell on him, crushing his skull 
and killing him instantly. Of each such God has truly 
said, " His confidence shall be rooted out of his taber- 
nacle, and it shall bring him to the King of Terrors." 

Not Now was Never ! — A young man working in 

the flour and feed mill here at O h, attending a 

meeting, was entreated to give his heart to God. He 
said: "Not now, some future time." In about a week 
the flour mill was blown up and he was instantly killed. 
— Contributed, 



SECTION XIII. 

THE PERIL OF PROCRASTINATING. 
" Boast not thyself of to-morrow." 

Hopeless. 

There was a man living in Newaygo County some 
time ago with whom the Lord had striven, but not 
yielding to the Spirit, he became very hardened in sin. 
One day as he was drawing logs to a mill, a log kept 
rolling from the trucks. After reloading it again and 
again he became angry and said, " I'll ride that log to 
the mill or I'll ride it to hell." He had not gone far 
when the log rolled from the trucks and rolled over 
him. He was taken where he could be cared for. A 
physician was sent for, but his case was hopeless. Oh ! 
the cries of that poor man would send terror to the 
hardest heart. Eternity staring him in the face, in 
tones of deepest agony he cries, '' I would give every 
dollar I have in the world if I could have only two 
hours to repent in. I might have been saved." The 
poor man passed into eternity leaving no evidence of 
salvation. Lost ! Could we but place our ear to the 
surface of the caverns of the lost and hear the wails of 
the damned, methinks we could hear them say, " I might 
have been " saved. Oh, if I only had improved upon 
opportunities that have passed I ** might have been " 

[237] 



238 EEVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

saved, but it is too late ! too late. Oh, sinner, repent 
while you have time. '* Now is the accepted time, to- 
day is the day of salvation." — F. D. Palmer. 

Fata/ Delays. 

A lady attended revival meetings and was deeply 
affected, and felt the need of salvation. However, in 
spite of her convictions, and the entreaties of her 
friends, she decided to put off the important matter 
until a more convenient season. Not very long after 
the meeting closed, she was riding in a boat, got wet, 
took cold, and in three days died, unprepared. 

A young man attended protracted meetings. Was so 
wrought upon by the power of the Holy Spirit that he 
trembled. His friends tried hard to induce him to 
decide for Christ, but he concluded to wait. The next 
night he was driving a horse, when the horse kicked 
him, causing instant death. 

Another man attended revival services. Became very 
serious. Was urged by his friends to give his heart to 
God. Was not quite willing to yield. The next morn- 
ing he was found dead in his stable, having been kicked 
to death by a horse. — Rev. E. A. Boynton. 

This Night 

A lady moving in the highest circles of society, 
became one evening convinced of sin, and alarmed 
about her state. Deep convictions followed. She 
struggled against them, but could not get rid of them. 
She thought of her many engagements, and her social 
position in life. Conscience said, " Decide for Christ 



THE PERIL OF PROCRASTINATING. 239 

now." The world said, "Not just now, but by and by ; 
such a step should not be taken hastily." 

In this state of perplexity and distress she retired to 
her room. As she did not appear the following morn- 
ing, nor answer any call, her room was entered. Oh ! 
what a sight to the family! The stillness of death 
reigned. There lay the body, cold, lifeless ! 

Her diary lay upon the table. Two entries had been 
made the previous evening. " I am determined this day 
six months to give up the world and become a 
Christian." 

But as if the conflict in her soul had deepened, and 
conscience had cried still louder, she had made a second 
entry : " This day month I am determined to be done 
with the world and follow Christ." 

But God said to her, ** This night thy soul shall be 
required of thee." And what became of that soul } 

And what, dear reader, will become of your soul, if 
you die to-night, as perhaps you may ? Be warned by 
this example of the danger of delay, and if you are not 
already a Christian, give up the world now, and follow 
Christ. — Sel. 

Tragical Warnings. 

" What makes me tremble and feel so strange ! " 

exclaimed a prominent citizen of M e, while the 

minister was preaching. 

The next day the wicked man was thrown from his 
buggy, and his companion bent over him just in time 
to hear him whisper, " It is all over with me now." 

One Sabbath afternoon a mocker stood up with the 



240 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

choir and sang, " My latest sun is sinking fast." The 
next day he died. 

I stood on the street corner in Milledgeville, Ga., 
soon after I was converted, and urged a young married 
man to attend our little prayer-meeting that night, for 
I was afraid he would go to his old accustomed place 
and spend his time in sin. He promised not to go to 
his old haunts of sin, but meet me at the chapel. But 
he yielded again to temptation and went where he was 
wont to go. I saw him after service at his home, where 
they had just carried him bleeding on a blanket. He 
was stabbed by an enemy. He asked me to pray for 
him, sent for my pastor later in the night, but without 
God and hope he died before morning. — Rev. Jas. L 

IVEY. 

Escape to ihe Hills ! 

Such was the alarm which startled all the people 
along the river at the awful Johnstown disaster. 

How like the sinner's condition : — 

They had been warned but heeded not the warning. 

Danger threatened but they did not believe it. 

Their unbelief did not alter the stern reality. 

They thought the man who periled his life to warn 
them was ''unduly excited" or "crazy." 

Some clung with a death grip to their property and 
thus lost their lives. 

Those who heeded the warning and flew to the hills 
escaped the flood. 

May each heed the Saviour's warning, and ** escape 
to the hills " of God's pardoning mercy and sanctifying 
grace and fatherly protection against the coming day 



THE PERIL OF PROCRASTINATING. 24:1 

which " will come as a thief in the night, in which the 
heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the ele- 
ments shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and 
all there is therein shall be burned up." 

A Sad Decision. 

There is no more awful truth in the Bible than that 
the '' Spirit will not always strive with man." 

While engaged in personal work one evening, I met 
a young lady who seemed to be deeply troubled about 
her soul's welfare. The Spirit had touched her heart, 
and in a powerful manner convinced her of sin and the 
judgment. As I stopped to speak to her, tears rolled 
down her face, and deep sobs of a sin-burdened heart 
choked her utterance. Finally, one night, the struggle 
within her seemed to reach a climax, and with the 
expression, "I will become a Christian," she started for 
the inquiry room, but after taking a dozen steps in that 
direction, she halted in an irresolute manner and said, 
"No, I think I'll wait until to-morrow night." I ear- 
nestly Warned her of thus trifling with God, but she 
was firm and returned to her seat. 

The next evening I chanced to see her, and asked 
her whether she was now prepared to yield herself up 
to God. "No," she said, "I have decided to put the 
matter off for a year." 

She attended every service for six weeks, but never 
manifested any more feeling than a stone. Hundreds 
were blessed of God, but she was left. She had hard- 
ened her heart, and grieved the Holy Spirit. What a 
warning to procrastinators ! — Rev. Wm. L. Barth. 



242 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

How " Inquisiiive " was Left 

"I came here," said Inquisitive, "to take the train, 
but would like to understand everything about the loco- 
motive before starting. I see no power in the engine ; 
I wish some one would explain this mysterious piece of 
mechanism before I step on board." 

" We have not time to explain everything," said the 
depot master : " if you wish to ride, buy your ticket and 
get aboard. The directors of the road are infallible ; 
you are already a believer in unseen powers and unseen 
forces ! " 

Inquisitive. — " How so } " 

Depot Master. — *' Did you ever see gravitation } " 

Inquisitive. — " No." 

Depot Master. — "And yet you would not deny that 
there is such a power at work in nature } You never 
saw the air you breathe ; you cannot see steam ; it is 
not visible until it becomes condensed in some degree. 
The power that moves this great gospel train is unseen, 
but because you cannot see it, and understand it, it is 
no proof that it is not able to carry you safely to the 
Holy City. You will have all eternity to " — 

" All aboard " rang through the station ; the whistle 
blew, the train was off, and Inquisitive was left. — From 
the Great Celestial Railroad. 

The Band Broken. 

A band of young men and young women attended 
the meeting night after night. The Holy Spirit strove 
with them and they acknowledged their conviction. 
But they all agreed to stand by each other, and that 



THE PERIL OF PROCRASTINATING. 243 

one should not go unless all did. They said " Our band 
must not be broken." One night I was deeply burdened 
for them, and their hearts were moved upon. Some 
were almost persuaded. The young men seemed more 
willing to go than the young women. I said to them 
by the influence of the Spirit, *' Young people, God 
will break your band." Meetings closed and many in 
the neighborhood had been saved, but all of that band 
were left unsaved. Soon after the close of the meet- 
ings they attended a dance. The next day one of the 
young ladies was taken sick. She was delirious a few 
days, then passed into eternity. Sad letters came to 
me from members of that band : " Oh, if we had taken 
your advice," wrote her brother. Another wrote : " If 
I hadJast winter to live over again, I would do dif- 
ferently. I remember your words, ' God will break 
your band." — Lura A. Mains. 

" Though hand join in hand he shall not be unpun- 
ished " (Prov. 6:15). 

Sudden Calamiiy. 

" Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly, suddenly shall he be 
broken without remedy " (Prov. 6 : 15). 

In that same meeting a man past middle life was 
under deep conviction. I urged him again and again to 
give his heart to God. But he always said, "I am 
afraid I could not live it." Soon after the meeting 
closed he died in agony, saying he was lost. Poor man ; 
he might not have had the battle of life long, if he had 
begun the warfare. 

A young man attended another meeting night after 
night. He refused to become a Christian just then. 



244 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

That same winter he went to the lumber woods to 
work. He was taken sick, and was soon told that 
he must die. About twenty of his comrades were in 
the room with him, and he called on them to pray 
for him. But they all said, "We cannot pray." Poor 
boy ! He h^d passed beyond the altar of prayer. He 
died in a few minutes with no one to point him to Christ. 
In another place a young man attended a series of 
meetings and a few times came forward for prayers, 
but he would not make the surrender. We held an- 
other series of meetings in an adjoining neighborhood 
the same winter, but there he seemed so changed ; was 
light and careless every evening. Soon after that meet- 
ing closed he did not seem well, but was about the 
house. He lay down upon the bed one day, and, to the 
surprise of those in the house, in a few moments was 
gone. Oh, sinner, be careful. There is the last call. 
It may be yours now. 

" There is a time, we know not when, — 
A place, we know not where, — 
That marks the destiny of man, 
To glory or despair." 

— L. A. M. 

** Another Time." — At Whitechapel, one day, I had 
been speaking, and there was a woman who very much 
impressed me. I went to her and besought her. She 
said, " Yes, I know it's all true. I have known it for 
years." I said, " How dare you risk putting it off.^" 
She said, " I can't speak of it to-night," treating it as 
if it were a matter of no consequence ; " I will come 
another time." I followed her right into the draught 
of the door, for I felt my heart go out after her. I 



THE P^RIL OF PROCRASTINATING, 245 

showed her the danger of delay. She said, "I will 
come at the close of the meeting on Tuesday." On the 
following Thursday she was buried, and died without 
hope. She neglected, despised the richness of His 
goodness. — Mrs. Booth. 

" Some time " is the chloroform with which Satan 
drugs people while he robs them of their souls. 

Suddenly Cut Off. — While holding a revival 
meeting, two men went into the store of a prominent 
member of the church and began to talk against the 
meetings and in favor of worldly pleasure, such as card- 
playing and dancing. The merchant said, he would be 
afraid to play cards and teach his boy for fear he would 
not be satisfied with playing at home and would go to 
the saloon and other places of vice to play. At this 
one man flew into a passion and said, " If you want to go 
to the church, and holler and squeal and make a fool of 
yourself, you may, but I will go to the pedro party." He 
went, having a cold ; during the evening he grew worse 
and worse. The whole party had to use their skill doc- 
toring him, having no time to try their hand at cards. 
He was brought home a corpse. — Rev. J. E. Arney. 

"No, Not This Time." — When I was holding ser- 
vices in P , a man who kept a public house came 

to a meeting, and was deeply affected. Some of the 
friends gathered round him, and tried to persuade him 
to stop to the prayer-meeting. He had been convicted 
many a time before. He knew all about it, and he knew 
the soul-ruining traffic in which he was engaged. God 
pulled him up and arrested him once more — made him 
think and feel and tremble. Friends said, " Stop, and 



246 n^viVAL KiNDitmj^. 

give up your business, and give yourself to God ; " but 
he shook his head and went away. He said, " No, not 
this time." He despised it ! He died the next Thurs- 
day, raving mad, without a ray of hope. He despised 
the richness of His goodness. — Mrs. Booth. 

Laughed out of it. — A young man with noble 
traits attended a protracted meeting at Milledgeville, Ga. 
He wanted to go to the altar for prayer, but his wicked 
companions jeered him, and he could not stand the 
ridicule. But he told his sister several times about his 
conviction, and said, " I wanted to go up for prayer, but 
they laughed me out of it." He died a month later 
without having decided for God and Heaven. 

Fearful Doom of those who did the Laugh- 
ing. — Subsequently the fate of the young men has 
been given by some one. One of them rushed into a 
store on fire, in company with others. All came out 
again except this scorner ; his heart and key were 
found among the hot embers, with pieces of flesh, and 
were placed on a cellar door. The other man soon 
died, beseeching the nurses to keep the rattlesnakes 
off him while he was dying. The third one was in the 
midst of a tornado, and while the timbers were flying 
he cried for mercy, expecting to be destroyed. 

Jesus doubtless referred to such when He said : 
"Woe unto you that laugh now, for ye shall weep." — 
Rev. James Ivey. 

What a Warning ! — One night at a revival meet- 
ing a young lady was urged to repent. " I will seek 
God to-morrow night," she replied. The next evening 



THE PERIL OF PROCRASTINATING. 247 

her mother found that she intended going to a ball, and 
entreated her not to go. She replied, " I will go if I 
die," and went up-stairs to dress. Her beau soon called 
for her. She was called but did not reply. Her mother 
went up to her room, found her sitting before the mir- 
ror, her lifeless hand placing a bow in her hair, for she 
was a corpse. She lost the dance, her life and her soul. 
Oh, to be a year too late, or a month too late, is to 
be forever too late, and forever lost. Prepare now to 
meet thy God. — Sel. 

The Spirit Quenched. — She was a bright young 
lady. She stood at the head of her classes. She came 
to our revival meeting Deeply convicted she wept, 
and seemed almost persuaded to yield, but said, " Not 
yet." Others pleaded with her, but each day she would 
say " Not now." Her feelings began to subside. She 
became indifferent, then trifling, and before the revival 
closed would take a back seat and with scorn deride the 
work. A short time after the meeting closed she re- 
tired one night slightly indisposed, and before morning 
was a corpse. She had quenched the Spirit. 

To-MORROW IS Never. — Some officers were once 
about to engage in a dance. Just then they were 
handed a letter which was marked, " Important Busi- 
ness." 

Saying " Important business to-morrow," they laid it 
aside and gave their time to the dance. 

The letter was a disclosure of a conspiracy to murder 
them, and they perished in the plot. 

So it is with all who turn away from the warnings of 
God's Word for the pleasures of sin. — Sel. 



248 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Died Without Hope. — I was just getting up to 
speak in a large theatre, when a Bible woman at work 
in the town said : *' I want to tell you something. 
There was a woman hearing you last Sunday who was 
deeply affected. She wept and trembled, and we tried 
to persuade her to give her heart to God. She said 
she couldn't then, but would come another time. She 
died on Tuesday without hope, and was buried on 
Friday." — Mrs. Booth. 

Trouble was Ahead. — Another case : A man in 
the ironworks had been at one of the services at Ports- 
mouth. He was working one day, when a massive 
piece of iron fell on him, but did not kill him on the 
spot. As the men carried him away he observed, 
"The lady said trouble was ahead; now it has come." 
I had been speaking from the text, " He that being 
often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be 
destroyed and that without remedy." — Mrs, Booth. 

"Never." — A brother minister says that in a certain 
revival meeting where a number had been converted 
that a man said to his companion : " They will have 
you next." Excited he lifted up his arm and brought 
it down with great force and said " Never." 

Immediately he fell dead. 

Of him and others who act thus it may truthfully be 
said: "Thyself hast decided it, so shall thy judgment 
be." 

"I Shall be in Time." — One of our men at White- 
chapel used to go to a particular druggist's to get pre- 
scribed for when not well, and he used always to warn 



THE PERIL OF PROCRASTINATING. ^49 

the doctor about his soul, w.hose invariable reply was, 
" Oh ! never fear, I shall be in time. I shall send for 
you when I am dying." One day he fell down in his 
surgery and never spoke again. — Mrs. Booth. 

*'A Little More of the World." — In the revival 
in which Rev. J. Steffee was converted there were two 
young men who were under deep conviction, but who 
said : " We will see a little more of the world." In 
less than three weeks one of them fell upon a circular 
saw, and the other was killed by a limb falling and 
crushing his skull while chopping in the woods. How 
needful the Saviour's words " Be ye also ready." 

"Not Time to Sell." — "One hundred thousand 
dollars for one hour more of time," shrieked the wealthy 
procrastinator as the death sweat began to gather on 
his brow. 

" I have remedies to prescribe, but not time to sell," 
was his physician's hopeless answer, and another soul 
passed through the portals of the grave to meet a mis- 
spent life at the judgment. — Sel. 

Feelings Fled. — A young lady now living, passed 
through many revival services, and would not yield. 
She became so hardened that she even trifled in such 
meetings. Now she realizes her sad condition and 
says : " I would give anything to have the feeling I 
once had on the subject of religion." — Rev. A. 
Lennox. 

Too Late. — A man in Michigan, crushed by logs, 
when dying sent for a minister and said, " Pray for me. 
I've grieved the Spirit." When asked to pray for him- 



250 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

self he said, " I can't, I'm lost. There is no mercy for 
me." Thus he died. How terrible to die having thus 
"quenched the Spirit." — Rev. J. Steffee. 

An Awful End. — A dissipated physician attended 

our revival meetings at M- . He was much under 

the influence of liquor, and at first seemed to come to 
criticise. He asked me to preach from Proverbs, 
24:32, '* Because I have called and ye refused ; I have 
stretched out my hand and no man regarded," etc. I 
did so, and God helped and blessed His truth. The 
physician went home and gave up drinking. I called 
upon him, and he seemed very tender, but determined 
to reform before seeking salvation. It proved a fatal 
mistake. For days he struggled with the drink demon, 
then yielded again to his power, and not long after, fell 
down-stairs and was instantly killed. The awful text 
which he had asked me to preach from was evidently 
his final warning, and by resisting it, and seeking to 
rest in reformation without salvation, he quenched the 
Spirit, was " suddenly cut off," and joined the number 
of those of whom it is written, " I will also laugh at 
your calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh." 



SECTION XIV. 

GETTING SAVED. 
" What shall we do to be saved ? " 

How io get Saved. 

Accept of Christ as your Saviour. " Whosoever 
Cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out." — Jesus. 

Yield to Him and give up all sin. *' Whosoever doth 
not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My 
disciple." — Jesus. "He that committeth sin is of the 
devil." 

No progress can be made until this point is rightly 
settled, any more than a thief could get a pardon while 
he kept on stealing. 

Ask for salvation. " Ask and it shall be given you." 
— Jesus. 

Having met the conditions upon which salvation is 
offered, believe that God gives it. " He that believeth 
hath everlasting life." — jEsus. 

Praise God for it, acknowledge it, and follow the ex- 
ample, and keep the words of Jesus. " With the heart 
man believeth unto righteousness, ami with the lips 
confession is made unto salvation." — Bzdle. 

A Ruinous Fallacy. 

I met a man the other day while doing house-to- 
house visitation among the unconverted, who confessed 

[251] 



252 REVIVAL SINDLINGS. 

that he was unconverted, but at the same time was 
basing a hope of salvation on the promise that 
"whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall 
be saved." Satan had blinded his eyes to the fact 
that in order to claim that promise one must call on 
the Lord, — 

1. Penitently. 

2. Submissively. 

3. Believingly. 

4. Prayerfully. 

5. Confessing Christ. 

Hence he was like a man who would expect to get 
well by looking at a remedy instead of taking it, or a 
sinking sailor who would hope for life by looking at a 
life-boat instead of getting into it. 

He would noi Sell His Soul. 

When the penitents were asked to come to the altar 
he was asked by his wife, " Come, won't you give your- 
self to God .-* " He shook his head and went home. 
That night she said to her husband, " I saw you were 
affected. I wish you had given your heart to God." 
He said, " Wife, I cannot be a Christian in the business 
I am in." She said, "I know that." He was a liquor 
dealer. And she added, *' Husband, I want you to give 
up your business and give your heart to God." He 
said, "Wife, I cannot afford it." "Well," she said, 
" how much do you clear every year from whiskey .-* *' 
"Well," he said, "my net profits are about ;^2,ooo a 
year." She asked, " Husband, how long do you reckon 
you will live to run that business } " "Twenty years in 
the natural expectation of things." "How much is 



GETTING SAVED. 253 

twice ;?20,ooo?" ";^40,ooo," '*;^40,ooo?" "Now, 
husband, if you could get ;j^40,ooo in a lump, would you 
sell your soul to hell for that sum ? " He said, " No, 
wife ! no ! I'll close out my business in the morning, 
and I will give my heart to God right now. I would 
not sell my soul for four thousand million dollars." — 
Sermons of Sam Jones. 

Convicted Through a Boli of Lightening. 

In one of my meetings a woman was brightly con- 
verted whose husband persisted in impenitence. 

He stoutly refused to yield. 

A few weeks after the meeting closed. When all was 
still and the sky seemed almost clear, the people were 
startled by a terrific peal of thunder, the only one that 
was heard that day. The bolt of lightning struck the 
house of the stubborn father, and the spirit of his 
precious child was summoned' to Paradise. This was 
sanctified to the conviction of the father, and he soon 
after professed conversion. I officiated at the funeral 
of the stricken child, and know this to be true. Many 
like this man have been led with the Psalmist to say, " It 
is good for me that I have been afflicted ; that I might 
learn thy statutes." 

The Converted Indian, 

Rev. Thomas Nahbenayash, an Indian preacher, of 
Thomas ville, Alger County, Mich., in an address before 
the Missionary Society, Albion, Mich., among other 
interesting incidents, mentions the following, which 
came under his own observation, and which illustrates 
** assurance " of salvation. He said, " I know an in- 



254 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

stance where an Indian having been converted said, 
' My father and mother taught me their religion, and 
they advised me to fast. I fasted many days, hoping 
that God might bless me, and I myself never heard, or 
saw, or felt anything ; but since I gave up my old 
religion, and gave my heart to God, I am happy, and I 
have the assurance that God saves me, and I feel it in 
my heart.' " 

Begin ai Once. 

" Mamma, when I am a man I will begin to love 
Jesus." 

These words fell from the lips of a little fellow 
scarcely six years old. His mother had endeavored 
many times to impress on his youthful mind the neces- 
sity of early piety, but hitherto all her persuasions 
seemed in vain. 

When the child uttered these words, his mother said : 
" But, my dear, suppose you do not live to be a man } " 

He remained silent for some minutes, with his eyes 
fixed on the ceiling, as in deep thought, and then with 
a resolute countenance, added, — 

"Then, mamma, I had better begin at once." — 6". 5. 
Visitor, 

**They that seek Me early, shall find Me." 

Rescued From a Common Delusion. 

Not long since, as a clergyman was visiting one of 
his parishioners, who was a man of business, the follow- 
ing conversation substantially occurred : — 

" It is true," said the merchant, " I am not satisfied 
with my present condition. I am not of a settled mind 



GETTING SAVED. 255 

in religion, as you express it. Still, I am not utterly 
hopeless ; I may yet enter the vineyard, even at the 
eleventh hour." 

*'Ah! your allusion is to the Saviour's parable of 
the loitering laborers, who wrought one hour at the end 
of the day. But you have overlooked the fact that 
these accepted the first offer." 

" Is that so > " 

** Certainly ; they said to the Lord of the vineyard, 
*No man hath hired us.' They welcomed the first 
offer immediately." 

" True, I had not thought of that before. But, then, 
the thief on the cross, even while dying, was saved." 

** Yes ; but is it likely that even he had ever rejected 
the offer of salvation, as preached by Christ and His 
apostles } Like Barabbas, he had been a robber by 
profession. In the resorts to which he had been accus- 
tomed, the gospel had never been preached. Is there 
not some reason to believe that he, too, accepted the 
first offer.?" 

'* Why, you seem desirous to quench my last spark of 
hope." 

" Why should I not ? Such hope is an illusion ! 
You have really no promise of acceptance at some 
future time. Now is the accepted time! Begin now." 

" How shall I begin > " 

"Just as the poor leper did when he met Jesus by the 
way, and committed his body to the Great Physician, in 
order to be healed. So, commit your soul to Him as a 
present Saviour. Then serve Him from love. The 
next, even the most common duty of life that you have 
to perform, do it as a service to Him, Will you accept 



256 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

the first offer ? Your eyes are open to see your peril. 
Beware of delay — beware." 

'' You are right. May God help me ! I fear I have 
been living in a kind of dreamy delusion on this sub- 
j ect. ' * — Times of Refreshing. 

Too Cheap. 

A preacher of the gospel had gone down into a coal- 
mine, during the noon hour, to tell the miners of that 
grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ. After 
telling them the simple story of God's love to lost sin- 
ners — man's state and God's remedy — a full and free 
salvation offered — the time came for the men to 
resume work, and the preacher came back to the shaft 
to ascend to the world again. Meeting the foreman, he 
asked him what he thought of God's way of salvation. 
The man replied, — 

" Oh, it is too cheap. I cannot believe in such a reli- 
gion as that." 

Without an immediate answer to this remark, the 
preacher asked, — 

" How do you get out of this place } " 

"Simply by getting into the cage," was the reply. 

" And does it take long to get to the top } " 

*' Oh, no ; only a few seconds." 

"Well, that is very easy and simple. But do you 
not need to help raise yourself.'*" said the preacher. 

"Of course not," replied the miner. "As I have 
said, you have nothing to do but get into the cage." 

" But how about the people who sunk the shaft, and 
perfected all this arrangernent 1 Was there rnuch labor 
or expense ^bout it .? " 



GETTING SAVED. 257 

" Indeed, yes ; that was a laborious and expensive 
work. The shaft is eighteen hundred feet deep, and it 
was sunk at a great cost to the proprietor ; but it is our 
only way out, and without it we should never be able 
to get to the surface." 

"Just so. And when God's Word tells you that who- 
soever believeth in the Son of God hath everlasting life, 
you at once say, ' Too cheap, too cheap ! ' — forgetting 
that God's work to bring you and others out of the pit 
of destruction and death was accomplished at a vast 
cost, the price being the death of His own Son." — Bap- 
tist Teacher. 

" For God so loved the world that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him, should 
not perish, but have everlasting life." 

A Picture of the Sinner's Peril and Deliverance. 

In a humble cottage at the base of one of the rugged 
Vermont hills, way down in old New England, lived 
the father <fP a large family of children, four of whom 
became sailors on the great ocean. I wish to tell you a 
true story concerning one of those boys. My brother 
H., for I myself am one of the family, was a sailor at 
the time the great rebellion broke out; bat at the 
commencement of the war he enlisted in the United 
States service, and was placed on one of those gun- 
boats so often called a cheese-box. After the close of 
the war, he engaged himself to a merchant vessel, and 
sailed to the West Indies. On their return to New 
York, they were shipwrecked. About midnight, the 
cries of the sailors were heard above the storm ; " The 
ship has sprung a leak." Every possible effort was 



258 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

made to save the gallant vessel, but without avail. It 
was soon seen that she must go to the bottom of the 
sea. My brother was standing on the top of the pilot 
house when the ship went down. Every other person 
on board perished ; but as the ship plunged under the 
water, the force of the air burst off the top of the pilot- 
cab on which he was standing, and on this he was left 
floating on the. water. All the rest of that night, and 
until the middle of the next afternoon, he remained in 
that terrible condition. But when he had nearly given 
up in despair, as he rose to the top of one of those great 
swells, for the sea was very rough, he saw away in the 
distance the rigging of a ship. He quickly stripped 
off his red sailor's jacket, and each time as he rose to 
the top of another swell, he waved it over his head. 
At last the old gray-haired captain saw him, and made 
toward him, and, as soon as he was near enough, asked 
him if he should throw him a rope, or send him a boat. 
He told him to lay alongside, and throw him a rope. 
At last, in this way, they dragged him %n board — 
almost exhausted, and nearly frozen, for it was in 
March. Saved at the last moment, yet saved by a per- 
fect and complete salvation ! One moment out in the 
great ocean with only a plank, and the long, cold, dark 
night coming on — the next in the great, strong ship 
by a warm fire, and soon clad in dry and comfortable 
garments — delivered from all danger. To him, that 
ship proved, indeed, a life-boat. 

But, friend, my brother's experience, terrible as it 
was, is only a fair type of that of thousands, who float 
away on the great ocean of time, thoughtless and 
unconcerned until the hour of danger comes. Then 



GETTING SAVED. 259 

all their wicked deeds, as did his, pass through their 
minds in a moment. Many perish, but some are 
rescued. That ship on which he was safe is a type of 
Christ. My brother found deliverance from physical 
death. In Christ the sinner may find salvation from 
eternal death. This is his only hope. — Rev. C. M. 
Smart. 

The Law Leads to Christ. 

" Some say that they are gospel preachers. I am a law and gospel 
preacher." — John Wesley. 

Among the many illustrations of the wisdom of 
preaching the law is the following incident which oc- 
curred in one of our first meetings as evangelists. 

It was in an unawakened community, and I had 
dwelt chiefly on the claims of God's law for some time, 
illustrating the peril of breaking it by a striking chart 
which I had made for that purpose. 

Conviction, of course, deepened, and some had sought 
safety from Sinai at Calvary. 

One man, however, a leading one in the community, 
became greatly enraged over it, and said he never 
would be converted under such preaching as that. He 
said to me : " You are doing more hurt than good. 
Our pastor don't preach that way, and your wife 
don't." 

** Why don't you get converted under their preach- 
ing, then } " 

No answer. 

I told him that he would see things differently after 
a while, but said nothing, of course, to relieve the 
pressure he was under. He was not yet ready for 



260 REVIVAL KINDLINGS, 

Christ, although the truth offered by the Holy Spirit 
was fast preparing him. 

His wife wisely stood by the truth, and used her 
influence to secure his salvation. 

He continued to oppose, however. I was greatly 
burdened for him, and finally said to Mrs. Knapp, " His 
influence must be broken if I fast and pray all night." 

I prayed but a little while before the victory came, 
and I was assured that all would be well. I knew 
not whether, as others often are, he would be " suddenly 
cut off," or would yield and be converted. 

Monday morning the lady where we were entertained 
knocked at our door and said : " Bro. — wants to see 
you. He is Bro. now." 

He was blessedly converted, and, with his wife, had 
come to tell us of the wondrous change which grace 
had wrought, but was so choked with emotion that he 
could not command the words to do it. So his wife 
told the story. He went home from the meeting the 
night before greatly troubled. He talked the matter 
all over with his wife, and began to yield and seek for 
mercy. They read the Bible, talked and prayed until 
about two o'clock the next morning, when he fully 
yielded and was clearly converted. 

The first duty that presented itself was to come and 
tell us all about it. He hastened to do so, and there 
was joy on earth and in heaven too when he through 
grace was made anew. 

The law, attended by the Spirit's power and the 
efforts of Christian workers, especially of his wife, had 
indeed been "a schoolmaster to bring him to Christ." 



GETTING SAVED. 261 

A Special Call. 

M was brought up under Presbyterian influence, 

and when pressed to become a Christian his standard 
excuse always was that he was waiting for a ^' special 
call." His wife was a faithful Christian woman, and of 
course was very greatly concerned about his salvation. 
She conducted family worship in his presence, and was 
wide awake to every act whereby she might win him to 
Christ. 

He was too gentlemanly to oppose her, but met all 
of her entreaties with the expressed determination to 
wait until he should receive his "special call." 

When our revival meetings near them began, they 
both attended regularly. Although an irreproachably 
moral man, he was too well instructed to depend upon 
that for salvation, the need of which he felt, but had 
decided not to rise for prayers, go to the altar, or take 
any outward step until he felt the " special call." 

One evening when the congregation was standing, 
unexpectedly to all I asked all upon their feet who 
were saved, or would seek to be, to remain standing, 
and all who were in the service of Satan, and expected 
to stay there longer, to be seated. An awful solemnity 
was on the people, and decisions were being made for 
eternity. 

Mr. M had a severe struggle. He saw that he 

must take sides. He was influential, and many eyes 
were upon him. What could he do .? He tried to sit 
down, but seemed held as in a vice. He wanted to 
stand, but felt that, as yet, he had not received his 
*' special call." 



262 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

He finally settled it that he would remain on his feet 
and abide by the position thus taken. That decision 
determined his destiny. He soon was gloriously con- 
verted, and from that memorable evening was always 
glad to be on his feet for God. He united with the 
Presbyterian church, and, still influenced by his early 
training, he holds that his "special call" came when 
that awful test question was put that compelled him to 
either take a stand for Christ, or, by sitting down, say 
that he was determined to serve the Devil. 

A Frank Confession. 

In the midst of a gracious revival at a place where I 
once labored, a young man became very deeply con- 
victed. When invited he kneeled at the altar and tried 
to make his peace with God. He obtained no relief. 
He felt that the promises of pardon did not apply to 
him, and, as events proved, at that time they did not, as 
he was not then meeting all of the conditions upon 
which pardon is offered. 

In a few days he came to our meeting rejoicing in 
the glad consciousness of sins forgiven. 

He said that the night he came to the altar the fact 
that he had grossly wronged a neighbor rose before 
him. He felt that he must see the man and confess 
his wrongs. Pride rebelled. Satan whispered any num- 
ber of suggestions, but Christ conquered, and in the 
morning he hastened to the neighbor, determined to 
make a clean breast of it all. 

At this time a law-suit between them was pending, and 
he had done many things to his neighbor's detriment. 

He stated his errand, told him that he could not 



GETTING SAVED. 263 

remember all the wrongs that he had done him, but he 
might ask him concerning any evil which he had ever 
received, and that if he was guilty he would confess. 

All matters were satisfactorily settled, and C. then 
found it easy to believe unto salvation, and soon had 
happily tested the truthfulness of the promise which 
declares, "If we confess our sins He is faithful and 
just to forgive us ! " 

" One Drop of the Blood " 

Are the words which led to my conversion. When 
about sixteen years old I was attending our district 
school, when a revival broke out at the River Hill 
church. My teacher asked me one evening to go with 
him to church. I consented and went, and it was the 
turning-point of my life, for when that beautiful hymn 
was sung, "One Drop of the Blood," it melted my 
heart ; and seeing two or three men at the altar who 
were addicted to strong drink, the Holy Spirit said to 
me, " Come." It was then and there I first saw my 
lost condition and my need of a Saviour. The words 
of the prodigal now were mine, and I said " I will arise 
and go to my Father." I went, and then and there I 
saw the power of prayer. Bro. Smith wrestled with 
God in my behalf, and, glory ! the answer came. 

But soon came a hard time for me. Of about one 
hundred people that lived in our village, I was almost 
alone in the service of Christ, and often my schoolmates 
would mock, and the people of my village call me all 
kinds of taunting names ; but I bore it patiently, and 
often in the still watch of the night, when there was 
no eye to see but God's, I would pour out my soul to 



264 RJEVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Him in their behalf. Thus working with heart and hand 
God blessed my efforts in the conversion of a score or 
more of my acquaintances, and mostly my schoolmates, 
some of whom I was called to present to God in a dying 
hour. — T. T. Stewart, Fort Washington, Ohio. 

Sahaiion of a Murderer who Became a Missionary. 

At our Holiness Convention in Perryville, Ky., July, 

1888, Miss Maggie P was convicted for sanctifica- 

tion. She was organist, Sunday-school teacher, and 
manager of the juvenile missionary society, and much 
devoted to church work. 

She came to the altar a few times, but got discouraged 
and failed to come a time or two. When I noticed her, 
she was standing in the congregation during the invita- 
tion, evidently in great mental agony, but striving to 
suppress her feelings and decide a great question. 
The crisis had come. It was a great struggle. She 
was thought to be the most devoted young lady in the 
church. She herself had taken pride in her devotion 
to church work, and thought herself to be a model 
Christian. But now God had revealed to her the 
depravity of her heart, and the remedy to be applied 
by faith, and the question must be met and the matter 
decided. The tempter was striving to keep her from 
the blood of cleansing by getting her to postpone to 
some future time. 

I watched for a few moments the struggle, and wit- 
nessed the victory. As soon as she decided to have 
the blessing now, she came running to the altar and fell 
upon her knees, and began to pray for cleansing. I 
immediately knelt by her side and said : ** You have 



GETTING SAVED. 265 

had a great struggle, and I am glad that you have 
gained the victory." 

She was soon graciously sanctified. After receiving 
the blessing she stated in her testimony that she had 
been led to look upon herself as a model Christian, but 
the Lord had revealed to her that she was a murderer. 
"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer." Miss 
Maggie is now in the foreign field as a missionary. — 
C. M. Humphrey. 

An Exemplary Decision. 

A leading merchant in a village where I once con- 
ducted revival services with his entire family was 
saved. 

Before the meeting closed he came under great con- 
viction in regard to tobacco. 

First he, with many others, renounced its use. Then 
he felt that, the same as with liquor, if it was wrong 
to use it, it was wrong to sell it. He saw that if he 
sold it, it would keep the temptation before himself and 
others who had renounced it. 

It was the most profitable article he handled, and he 
would doubtless lose custom if he ceased to sell it. 

He settled the matter on his knees, counted the cost, 
abandoned the unholy business, and packed up all he 
had on hand, and returned it whence it came. 

This made the people feel that there must be some- 
thing in a religion which would freely sacrifice so much. 
This gave a new impetus to the revival, which swept on 
until many more were saved. 



266 REVIVAL KINDLmaS. 

Conversion of a Moralisi. 

The Holy Spirit's work in conviction and conversion, 
is clearly illustrated in the experience of Brother H., 
who writes as follows : — 

"In the year 1885, under the preaching of Rev. M. 
W. Knapp, and the sweet songs sung by his wife, God 
powerfully coavicted me of my sins. 

"The means He used in the first place was a snow 
and wind storm, shutting Sister Knapp in at our house 
for nearly a week. And when not employed about the 
barn, or in breaking out the roads, I employed many 
hours with her in singing and conversation. I had been 
brought up in a Christian home, and had been under 
Christian influence from my earliest recollections ; but 
there was something about this Christ-crowned religion 
manifested in her life that won my confidence at once ; 
and the songs that we sang, touched chords in my heart, 
that echoed with wonderful sweetness. 

" The second means used to bring me to Him was a 
Chart, where they were holding meetings, representing 
two roads, one leading up to Heaven, the other down to 
Hell. Both started from the same point, but went 
farther and farther from each other through all Eternity. 
I was startled, to say the least. The Holy Spirit, then 
and there, awakened me from the moral lethargy that 
was swiftly and surely taking me on that downward 
road ; but in the face of this, and the facts and truths 
presented that night, I refused to yield to God's will. 

"The next night was very stormy, and, in conse- 
quence, only a few were there. The meeting was a 
very earnest one, yet my soul was so incased in moral- 



GETTING SAVED. 267 

ity and self-righteousness that I would not give up, but 
went away that night condemned ; but God's loving 
spirit would not leave me, and in His providence He 
brought me to Him through the instrumentality of a 
balky horse, although the horse has been true as steel 
since, and had been before. 

" I had loaded some logs and started for town, got 
into drifts of snow, and my team could not or would 
not pull the load through. I worked and shovelled snow 
until almost discouraged, when my brother-in-law came 
along, and helped me out by putting his team on ahead 
of mine ; but while doing this we conversed about the 
meetings, and came to an agreement that we would do 
our duty, and serve the Lord. I have seen that this 
was God's way of bringing two instead of one to Him- 
self. 

" The devil, after I had made this decision, attacked 
me with double fury ; and that night, when the invita- 
tion was given for those to come forward who wanted 
to receive pardon for their sins, my convictions and 
feelings were all gone, and I was entirely unconcerned 
about my soul's salvation. My brother-in-law came to 
me, and reminded me of our agreement, but I told him 
I would not go. He pleaded with me, said that my 
wife wished me to do so, and that he thought she 
would start with me. I did not want to be in her way, 
so I went and talked with her, and we both went to the 
altar, and when I gave my all into His hands. He 
received mc as His child. But now came the real 
battle to be fought. There were duties that I knew 
I must perform, and, oh ! I felt so weak, spiritually. I 
felt that God had put me on my feet, but I could not 



i268 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

take a istep ; but the Lord didn't leave me long m this 
way, for when I arrived at home, He showed me the 
first step to be taken. This was to kneel with my wife 
and ask Him for help. The cross seemed heavy, more 
than I could bear ; but I took the step, and God blessed 
me in it, and has blessed me every step of the way 
since. I am led more and more to believe and trust in 
Him who has so kindly led me all the way. 

''Shortly after this I joined the church, and entered 
into the blessing of Full Salvation." 

Resiitution of a Rooster. 

In one of our meetings, a bright young man entered 
into a rich religious experience. 

While searching his own heart in the light of God's 
Word applied by the Holy Spirit, he found a number of 
wrongs in his past life, which he could and would cor- 
rect. 

He was in real earnest, and therefore Satan failed 
to deceive him, as he has many others with weaker 
purposes, with the cry, " Get the heart right, and that 
is all that you will need to do." But his heart having 
been made right, he set about conforming his life to the 
teachings of the Word, knowing that failure to do this 
would soon cause a relapse of the old disease of the 
heart. 

As one after another of his past wrongs arose, and 
were corrected, he seemed to hear a voice say : '^ Pay 
for that rooster." 

" What rooster ? " 

"The one you shot." 

Then memory carried him back to the time when and 



GETTING SAVED. 269 

place where he shot and buried a rooster of his em- 
ployer's. 

Doubtless the tempter whispered to him as he often 
lias to many, " It was only a trifle, let it go." 

He understood, however, that the great principle of 
righteous restitution was involved, and so he heeded 
not the tempter's voice. 

Then whispered the subtle deceiver : "You must not 
mention it, for if you do, your influence will be forever 
ruined." The enemy ever depends upon this deceptive 
stratagem, when many other devices have failed. 

As if God were unable to take care of the influence 
of those who fully trust and obey Him ! 

Resisting Satan, Brother S. resolved to heed the voice 
divine, and restore the value of what he had destroyed 
with interest. 

Feared He Couldn'i make so much Money. 

In one of our early revivals, I. Arnold, now of Califor- 
nia, was brightly converted. 

He described the change as follows: "While 
Brother Knapp was holding a meeting in Eaton, I felt 
that I needed something to satisfy my soul, which I 
did not have. I felt, too, that unless my sins were 
forgiven, I would be lost, and lost forever. 

" I finally began to pray, but it seemed as if I could 
not give up the world. I was afraid that I could not 
make so much money if I was a Christian. 

" For two weeks I could not eat or sleep ; but it 
seemed as if my heart was made of stone. 

" One morning before going to church, I went to the 
barn, and there kneeled down and told the Lord that if 



270 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

He would forgive my sins, I would give up the world 
and serve Him all the days of my life. 

" I asked that, if there was salvation for me, that I 
might have the evidence of it that day. I did not get 
it just then ; but while I was riding in my buggy, at 
about half-past nine o'clock, the load of sin and guilt 
which I had been carrying all those years was lifted, 
and I shouted praises to God, 

" I knew I was converted, because I was so happy. 
All seemed so changed, and everything and everybody 
seemed so good. My first thought since then, has been 
of His mercy, and I love to tell what He has done for 
me. Since then He has prospered me in all my under- 
takings, even more than before my conversion. His 
Word is food for my soul, and the Bible the Book of 
books to me. Soon after my conversion, I united with 
the church, which has been a great help to me." 

Caught On a Cold Day. 

In one of our evangelistic meetings the following inci- 
dent occurred. 

It illustrated the power of the Holy Spirit in con- 
quering rebellious hearts. 

A middle-aged man from Chicago was a constant 
attendant. 

He had been an actor, and exercised quite an influence 
over the worldly people of the place. 

He made sport of the meetings, tried to sow discord 
between myself and the pastor, was full of argument, 
and resisted all appeals. 

We labored with him as the Holy Spirit led, and he 



GETTING SA'VED. 271 

soon was under conviction. One Saturday evening he 
was greatly subdued, took my hand and said : — 

"I have discovered that my worst enemy is myself." 

Highly favored is every unsaved man who has made 
and accepts that discovery. 

He passed a troublesome night, and the next morn- 
ing, with his wife, was promptly on hand, at the first 
meeting. 

Many had been brightly converted, and some had 
entered into the experience of entire sanctification. I 
said, " Many of you have been sick and Christ has 
healed you. We will have a speaking meeting, and I 
want you to tell us about it." 

The first one on his feet was our convicted actor, 
who, placing his hand upon his heart said, " I'm sick. 
I've got the heart disease, and I've got it very badly. I 
want you to pray for me." 

He and his wife both hastened to the altar, where he 
earnestly pleaded for pardon and was blessed ; and the 
work swept on till over one hundred professed con- 
version. 

A few days before his conversion some friends had 
entered the store and said to him, " I hear that they are 
getting a good many, over to the church ! " 

"It will be a mighty cold day when they get me," he 
crankily replied. 

The next Tuesday after his conversion, the same 
parties, not having heard of it, asked who they were 
"getting" at the meetings. Boldly he answered, 
"They've got me." He invited many to come with 
him. 

He was very anxious for me to baptize him ; and as 



272 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

the pastor wished it, I arranged to do so the last Sab- 
bath of the meetings. 

It proved to be a very cold day, and he chose immer- 
sion ; so in the midst of a driving snow-storm we went 
out into the lake with a number of others, and he was 
immersed. As he had unwittingly prophesied, " It was 
.a very cold day " when he was " caught." 

The last I heard of him he was an earnest worker in 
the church. 

Conversion of a Roman Catholic. 

Rev. J. H. Weber, a converted Catholic, the '' Revival 
Tornado " Evangelist, describes his conversion as 
follows : — 

" I went to Cincinnati, and if ever a man tried hard to 
be a devout Romanist, I tried. No Sunday ever came 
but you could see me wending my way to the Bank 
Street Romish Church. When I would behold those 
poor people agonizing in the same way I was, bowing 
before images and anointing themselves with holy 
water, yet going away with sorrow and sadness and the 
load of guilt on them, my poor heart would yearn for 
relief, but none came. 

" Day by day my heart would cry out, ' Oh, that I 
knew where to find Him!' One Sunday, being lone- 
some and troubled, I wended my way over the Rhine, 
amid the saloons, dance-halls, and variety theatres. 
Hearing the patter of the feet of the ballet dancer, I 
went in and ordered a bottle of mineral water; Before, 
these things charmed me, but now I longed for some- 
thing better. I did not remain there long, but went to 
Washington Park, and while there I saw a large crowd 



GETTING SAVED. 273 

gathered. Curiosity attracted me to the crowd, and 
while there, I cannot remember the text or a particle of 
the sermon ; but when they began to sing 'Almost Per- 
suaded,' the music charmed me. I was riveted to the 
spot. The minister lined the hymn, and when he 
reached the last verse and the last four lines, he said : — 

" * Almost persuaded now to believe ; 
Almost persuaded Christ to receive.* 

"Still I was not moved much. He read, — 

" ' Almost cannot avail, 
Almost is but to fail. 
Sad, sad this bitter wail, 
Almost, but lost ! ' 

"When he said Most,' I never had anything pierce 
my heart through as that did. It seemed as though a 
dagger had pierced my heart, and for a moment I quiv- 
ered ; but with lightning thought I raised • my eyes to 
heaven and my heart to God and said : — 

" ' I will not be lost, I'll be saved.' 

"As if tons of weight had been lifted, my burden 
was gone, my sin-sick soul was free. I was enraptured] 
with joy indescribable. The song went on, the meeting- 
dismissed, but still I stood transfixed, riveted to the 
spot. The preacher, Joseph Emery, city missionary, 
came and asked me to go to the Christian Association. 
Then the tears came streaming down my cheeks. I 
started for my home. The sun shone with brighter 
brilliancy, the grass looked greener, the faces of th^e; 
people looked different, my soul was filled, \ ij^as, free^ 
Praise the Lord ! " 



274 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

An Example for Unconverted Wives. 

"The day my wife really left me was the saddest 
period of my life," said a man in his religious testimony. 
All ears being open to hear the sequel of a family muss, 
he continued : '* We had lived together harmoniously 
to that date. Though neither of us professed religion, 
she was religiously inclined, and during this revival tried 
hard to persuade me to go with her to the altar, but I 
obstinately refused. At last she became desperate, and 
declared she would leave me if I would not go, and 
started for the altar, leaving me alone in the seat. It 
really seemed to me like an eternal separation. Her 
movement broke me all down. I knew not what to do. 
I finally resolved to go after her, and we were both con- 
verted to God, and a happier family you never saw." 
— Sel. 

The best way to win and save our friends is to do 
our own duty. Had this woman complied with her 
husband's wishes, with a hope of winning him by other 
methods, as do many, both might have been lost. 

Do duty, and God will see to results. 

Exemplary Courting. — A young lady was brightly 
converted in our meeting. Some time after a young 
man sought her company. He, living at some distance, 
came on the train on Saturday, and would return on 
Monday. When church-time came Sunday morning, 
she told him it was her custom to attend church and 
class-meeting, and would be glad to have him accom- 
pany her. He at first was greatly confused, but con- 
sented to go. Before he left on Monday, she held 



GETTING SAVED. 275 

prayers with him, and now he is converted and takes 
part in the services with her. May all Christian young 
ladies have the same courage ! There would be more 
converted young men. They should insist that young' 
men that use tobacco or liquors should cease the evil 
practice or leave their company. — Rev. J. E. Arney. 

"Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." 
— Bible. 

Drop Your Brooms. — Patrick Donnolly, an Irish- 
man, was sweeping the streets of London, and as he 
was crossing from one side of the street to the other, 
and using his broom, a lawyer came up to him, 
tapped him on the shoulder and said : '' Is your name 
Patrick Donnolly .? " — " Yes, sir ; it is." After getting 
other facts from him, the lawyer said : " A client of 
mine has recently died, and left you twenty thousand 
pounds." Patrick dropped his broom instantly, and 
followed the lawyer, and entered as speedily as possible 
into the realization of his fortune. Jesus Christ has 
left us a fortune to save us from moneyed, mental, and 
moral poverty. Drop your brooms, and receive this 
fortune now and here. — Joseph Cook. 

How A Revival Began. — While Rev. J. H. Weber 
was holding revival meetings at Union City, a very 
wicked drinking-man came from an adjoining neighbor- 
hood, to hear the evangelist. He was converted ; when 
he went home he went from house to house and said : 
" I have been converted ; and won't you come to my 
house to-night, and I will tell you about it." The house 
was filled. He told his story ; the hearts of others were 
touched ; a revival meeting broke out, and many were 
converted, and yet the work goes on.— Rev. J. E. Arney, 



276 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Conquered by the Bible. — John Tyler, near Union 
City, would not allow his wife to go to meeting until 
she would promise him that she would not go to the 
altar. After she had started for church he got the 
Bible and began to read to himself. He was so con- 
victed that he knelt and asked God to forgive him. He 
was converted, and began asking God so to convert his 
wife, that she might go to the altar. She came home to 
tell him that she was converted, and found him 
praising God for salvation. — Rev. J. E. Arney. 

Which Way are You Going } — A mother and her 
child were about to leave their home for meeting. The 
little one said to her father, an unconverted man, 
" Won't you come with us ? " — " No," was the decided 
answer. Still pleading, the father, irritated, finally an- 
swered, " You and your mother go your ways, and I will 
mine." — ** But father," expostulated the persistent little 
follower of Jesus, "which way are you going ? " This 
question was so impressed upon his heart by the 
Holy Spirit, that he never found rest until he was 
converted. 

"A Little Child Shall Lead Them." — A father 
said to his girls, " You may go to the meetings, but you 
cannot go to the altar. I will horsewhip you if you 
do." One said, *' Papa, you can keep me from the altar, 
but you cannot keep me from being a Christian." They 
knelt where they were sitting that night in church, and 
God blessed them. Each rose and said, ** Jesus blesses 
me." The father was touched and said, " God helping 
me, I will be a Christian. ".n- Gospel Calif 



GETTING SAVED. ^Il 

It Makes Me Feel So New. — Bro. Boynton once 
urged a little boy about ten years old to give up sin 
and yield at once to Jesus. He hesitated, but went 
home thoughtful and soon was converted. When he 
returned he confessed the wondrous change by saying, 
*' It makes me feel so new." May such experiences 
multiply ! 

Only a step to Jesus ! 

Then why not take it now ? 
Come, and thy sin confessing 
To Him thy Saviour bow. 
Only a step, only a step ; 

Come, He waits for thee ; 
Come, and thy sin confessing. 

Thou shalt receive a blessing. 
Do not reject the mercy 
_ He freely offers thee. 

Only a step to Jesus ! 

Believe, and thou shalt live ; 
Lovingly now He's waiting, 

And ready to forgive. 

Only a step to Jesus ! 

A step from sin to grace. 
What has thy heart decided ? 

The moments fly apace. 

Only a step to Jesus ! 

Then why not come, and say, 
Gladly to thee, my Saviour, 

I give myself away ? — Sel. 



SECTION XV. 

GETTING SAVED — {continued). 

*' And they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb, and the 
word of their testimony." 

Conversion of IVIrs. M. IV. Knapp. — Hints io Parents and 
Children. 

For several days I had been gr ,Ay blessed in read- 
ing the experiences of Christia^i people, when, one 
evening at family prayers, from the fulness of my 
heart, I thanked God for the blessings that I had 
received in this way, and the impression was immedi- 
ately made upon my mind that my experience might 
help some one else. So, then and there, I promised to 
give it to God and His children. Praying that His 
name may be glorified, I fulfil my promise. 

When very young, if I heard my mother praying at 
an unusual hour or place, I would go away to some 
secluded spot to weep, and wish I were a Christian too. 
Before I was six years old, during revival services, 
mother would stop her work to read and pray with a 
young girl living in our family ; and I would mourn by 
myself, and wish mother would talk and pray with me, 
for I wanted to be good too. But my dear mother, like 
many other Christian mothers, had no idea of the 
thoughts, convictions, and deep soul-longings of her 

[278] 



GETTING SAVED. 279 

child, and said nothing to me upon the subject of my 
soul's salvation. 

The following year, I told a little friend that I wished 
I had died when I was a baby, because then I should 
have gone to heaven. She said, "Why, you would if 
you should die now, wouldn't you .-* " I told her, no, 
"because I am so wicked." 

About this time, one morning at family prayers, my 
heart seemed almost broken on account of my sins, and 
I thought I would pray, which meant to me the begin- 
ning of a Christian life ; but Satan suggested that I wait 
until I was as old as my father was when he was con- 
verted, nine years of age, and I yielded, and let the 
opportunity go by. Within an hour I told mother 
that I almost prayed that morning, and my Christian 
mother never said one word. Well, I concluded that 
mother thought that I did not know enough to be a 
Christian; and my trial over mother's action, or in- 
action rather, was much greater than over Satan's 
temptation. 

Don't think that mother had neglected my religious 
training, for such was not the case. She simply lacked, 
at that time, the spiritual discernment to see my con- 
dition. 

Since then, she has entered into the experience of 
perfect love, and, I trust, knows how to lead the little 
ones, as well as others, into the Kingdom. 

I shall praise God through all eternity for my pre- 
cious Christian mother. 

No childhood memories are to me more sacred than 
the hours which my mother spent with me alone in 
prayer. The conviction which came to me, when she 



280 HE VITAL KINDLINGS. 

would, on such occasions, mention my name in prayer, 
never fully left me. 

The next year a fire broke out on my father s farm, 
and I thought it threatened our buildings, and I told 
the Lord, if He would help put out the fire, I would 
certainly serve Him. My prayer was answered; but I 
thought, as a great many older sinners do under like 
circumstances, that God had nothing to do with it. 

When I was ten years of age, I attended revival 
Services, and agreed with another little girl to arise for 
prayers one evening. Again Satan came and told me, 
if we did, the people would think we did not understand 
what we were doing, and so, much harm would be done 
the work. So very kind of Satan to care for the 
interest of Christ's kingdom ! 

Let no one think that I was outwardly very wicked 
all this time, for such was not the case. I was sel- 
dom disobedient to my parents or teachers, and was 
punished but very few times in my life. All this 
time the Holy Spirit was seeking me, and making 
me feel very uncomfortable, because I had no hope 
of eternal life, and because I feared to meet God. Oh, 
how I thank Him for not leaving me alone, nor allowing 
me to become hardened or sceptical in regard to reli- 
gious things. 

Just here. Christian parents, please permit me to say 
a few words to you. Do you know that as soon as the 
little ones are old enough to know there is a God, they 
are old enough to begin to love and serve Him } And 
as soon as they can understand that they do wrong, 
they may be told of God's love, and go to Him for for- 
giveness. It's all very simple and easy ; but Satan has 



GETTING SAV£:l). 281 

blinded the eyes of many parents, so that the children 
must suffer and wait, and, perhaps, become sceptical 
and hardened, and never come to Christ at all. 

During my thirteenth year a dear Christian friend 
became deeply interested in my soul's welfare. She 
talked with and prayed for me, and in September I 
was converted. My friend and I were separated at 
that time, and I had no courage to speak to any one 
else upon the subject. So my new-found joy lasted 
only a few weeks, and then the next few months I 
suffered all the tortures that befall the backslidden in 
heart. 

The next March, during meetings held by Rev. Thos. 
Nichols, I felt that God was calling me for the last time, 
and in a stony sort of a way I began in real earnest to 
seek my soul's salvation. The deep penitence of former 
times seemed to have left me, and I sought Christ 
because I knew I must, or die eternally. I prayed and 
prayed until my heart melted and I saw myself a 
wretched, guilty sinner, worse than the thief upon the 
cross. 

One Sabbath afternoon I prevailed upon my parents 
to leave me at home alone, while they attended the 
service. As soon as they had gone, I knelt down and 
told the Lord I would never arise again until He saved 
me. Oh, I was desperately in earnest, and was just on 
the verge of despair. Just then the awful burden of 
guilt rolled away, and I rose to my feet saying : " Glory 
to God ! glory to God ! " Immediately there seemed 
in the room three spirit forms, and I felt that my two 
brothers and sister in heaven were rejoicing because of 
my salvation. Then I remembered that Jesus had said : 



282 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

" Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, 
more than over ninety and nine just persons, which 
need no repentance." 

All the outside world seemed to have taken on a 
brighter and more beautiful appearance in just that 
short, sweet moment when God met me. But no : God 
had not changed His world, but had wonderfully changed 
my wandering, sinning heart, so that from that time I 
seemed altogether a different being. 

A few weeks went by, and though I had been obedi- 
ent and happy, still I found elements in my nature that 
were contrary to God's will, and sometimes I wanted 
my own way. Our minister was a faithful man of God, 
who declared the whole gospel ; and I saw my need of 
heart purity, sought, believed, and received it. This 
was as distinct and real to me as the evidence of my 
conversion. As Dr. Watson says, I gave God " all I 
knew and all I did not know " for time and eternity. 
I had not the remotest idea of all it meant at that time, 
but I know that the consecration was complete, because 
since then, whenever God has asked me to do seemingly 
hard things, I have not felt rebellious, but have wanted 
to do them. 

For several years my nearest friends kept telling me 
I ought to preach the gospel, but it never influenced 
me any more than as though they had never thought of 
such a thing. The Lord gave me plenty of work to do 
in children's and young people's meetings and revival 
work, and led me gently and lovingly, step by step, 
until the winter of 1882, when He told me, in unmistak- 
able terms, to " Preach the Gospel." 

Our conference soon after set its seal upon my call 



GETTING SAVED. 283 

by including me in its commendation of my husband to 
evangelistic work. 

Though I felt utterly unable to do such a thing, I 
only waited to be sure of God's call, and then I said, 
" I'll obey." My commission meant, to me, to tell the 
glad tidings of salvation to a lost world ; and I've been 
trying to do that ever since ; and God gives me a real 
love for the work, and blesses me in it, and has seen fit 
to bless my labors in the conversion and sanctification of 
precious souls. To His name be all the praise ! 

No Wish For It 

The following instances of complete victory over the 
liquor habit are taken from ** Moody, His Words, Work, 
and Workers " : — 

1. "It was a struggle almost unto death, but I said : 
* If I die, I die a sober man.' That scripture in the nine- 
teenth chapter of Luke and the tenth verse seemed to 
come with light and hope to me — * For the Son of 
man is come to seek and save that which was lost.' 
For three weeks nearly the struggle went on in my 
room, but at last the Lord gave me the victory ; and 
since that day I have taken no liquor to drink, nor 
have I had any wish for it." 

2. " My father and mother were both intemperate, and 
I was a perfect slave to this appetite. I came to Amer- 
ica a drunkard, and the first year I spent in saloons and 
gambling-dens. Twice I have had a pistol at my head 
with the thought that life was no longer endurable. 
But when I came to Chicago I went into the home of 
an old school-fellow, whose Christian life was the means 
of leading me to the Saviour. The Lord took away my 



m 



REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 



taste for liquor when He converted ftiy soul ; not by- 
degrees, but all at once. And I want to invite any man 
here who is the victim of liquor to give himself to 
Christ, and let the grace of God make him altogether 
new." 

3. " Five years ago I was converted. For three years 
before that time I averaged half a bottle of rum a day, 
week-days and Sundays. I came to Chicago drunk, 
and for the first twelve months I ate, drank, and slept 
in a saloon ; not only drinking liquor myself, but mix- 
ing and giving it to others. 

** One night a man put his hand on my shoulder and 
asked me to become a Christian, saying he would pray 
for me. I went home and to bed, and then I thought 
of another who was praying for me — my old mother 
— in the Highlands of Scotland. And as these thoughts 
were going on in my mind I seemed to hear a voice : 
' He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting 
life.' . . . The next morning I got up a saved man. 
And for five years God has kept me. In all that time 
I have never had one single thought or desire for drink. 
I was an awful smoker and chewer, but all taste for 
tobacco has gone too." 

Why He QuH Selling Tobacco. 

A year ago last December I started a little grocery 
store. Things ran smoothly. Liked the business well 
enough, until some of our patrons began to inquire for 
tobacco, and asked if I were not going to keep it in 
stock. I invariably told them yes, but thought I would 
not take out a license until January. 

But when the tobacco question came up, there would 



GETTING SAVED. 285 

come up in my mind a doubt in regard to the propriety 
of a man who professed to follow the Lord Jesus, and 
had His Spirit, and had been partaker of the divine 
nature, selling tobacco. And so I began to pray about 
the matter and search the Word. I found we should 
not have anything to do with that which is filthy. I 
believed the use of the weed to be unclean. I felt like 
the minister who was preaching sanctification. A 
deacon came to him one day with tobacco juice at the 
corners of his mouth, and the fumes of smoke upon 
him, and said, " I do not believe I am sanctified." The 
minister replied, after getting a sniff, " I do not think 
you are either, brother. You don't smell like it." I 
also learned in the Word I should not put a stumbling- 
block in my brother's way, and I felt the use of tobacco 
was a great stumbling block to Christianity. Yet the 
tempter suggested that inasmuch as I could not find 
** tobacco " prohibited, also that professed Christians did 
sell it and use it too. And last, but not least, there 
was a good profit in the traffic. Also, men were bound 
to have it anyway. I might just as well have some of 
the profits as not. 

Another influence was, some of my best customers 
said, "If you do not sell it, you will lose your trade." 
Another was, my dear wife, who said, " I guess you had 
better get it." But the greatest influence was my own 
will, which said, " I guess I will." So I settled the matter, 
went to town, purchased my stock, which consisted of 
cigars, fine cut, coarse cut, plug, and pig-tail twist, 
advertising pictures, to tempt the appetite, and sent for 
my license ; and to take the curse off, I bought it all of 
a member of the first church in town in good standing. 



286 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Came home feeling I had got a grocery indeed ; had 
not more than got the stuff in the house, before a lady, 
in very humble circumstances, came in, and asked 
if we had got tobacco yet. My wife, the clerk, said 
**we had." She said, "they would be our best custom- 
ers." "Do you know," said she, "that it cost my 
husband more for tobacco in one year than it does for 
bread for the family } " My " clerk " told me this just 
before going to a revival meeting, which was in prog- 
ress near our home, and in which I was doing all I 
could for the salvation of souls. It seemed to me that 
the sermon was directed at me that night. All I could 
see before me was the words, " It cost more for tobacco 
than bread." And when I arose to witness for my 
Saviour, I was so weak I could hardly stand, and 
actually took hold of a chair to steady myself by. The 
meeting was a failure in my estimation, and as soon 
as dismissed, I shot out of the door for home, under 
great condemnation. I awoke in the morning feeling 
sad, did my chores, came in the house for breakfast, 
found my wife bathed in tears. On inquiring the 
cause, she said, " Oh, I wish this old tobacco was out of 
the house!" I said, "Pack it up, and away it goes." 
I took it back, without having sold an ounce, exchanged 
it for necessaries of life, told the merchant I could not 
sell tobacco and win souls at the same time. The next 
night I could talk in meeting like a whirlwind. Oh, 
how God filled my soul ! I believe the tobacco, as the 
liquor business, to be of the devil. I believe it to be 
the duty of every Christian minister to lift up his voice 
and cry aloud and spare not, until the tobacco business 
will be as unpopular as slavery, and men will use it 



GETTING SAVED. 287 

as men steal — like sneaks. May Goa hasten the day 
when every layman in the church of God will shun to- 
bacco as he would a rattlesnake ! — F. E. Morehouse. 

Tobacco Craving Cure\ 

The following is from one of the converts of the 
Jerry McAuley Mission, as given in " The Temperance 
Reform and its Great Reformers " : — 

" For nine years I was a drinkin' and thievin'. In 
them nine years I was locked up eight times ; but now 
my sins are all forgiven, and Jesus saves me to the 
uttermost ; saves me, too, from thievin', from lyin', from 
cursin', and swearin', from drinkin' whiskey, and chewin' 
and smokin' terbacker. 

" It was the fifteenth of February last that I first got 
the invitation to Jerry's meetin', up in a den in the 
Bowery where I used to hang out. A young fellow up 
there says : ' Come down to Jerry McAuley's meetin' ; 
it is a good night's fun.' So I came. When I got 
there it was sort o' strange like ; but one after another 
they got up and said Jesus saved them from this, and 
saved them from that, and saved them from the other 
thing, and I says to myself : Some of them fellows 
used to be just as bad as me, and if Jesus can save 
them, He can save me too.' By and by Jerry inquired 
who wanted to be saved, and I said I did. So we went 
down on our knees, Jerry and I, and a lot of other poor 
fellows, and the Lord Jesus gave me a new heart right 
there, took all the love of liquor, and tobacker, and the 
theatre and sparrin' matches, and all that, out of me, 
and now I am a tryin* to do everything to the glory 
of God" 



288 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

*' And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out ; it is 
better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with 
one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell- 
fire, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
quenched." 

H Will Kill Me to Quit 

I know him well. He was a good man, and an 
earnest Christian. He wanted a revival, prayed for it, 
worked for it. 

In order that he might be efficient, he sought the 
"gift of the Holy Ghost." He did this for a time in 
vain. 

One afternoon while at the altar for this, something 
seemed to say to him, — 

" Renounce your tobacco." 

*'I cannot, the doctors advise its use." 

*' Renounce your tobacco." 

" I cannot, I tried it once and failed." 

** Renounce your tobacco." 

"I cannot, it will kill me if I quit." 

"Renounce your tobacco." 

"Lord, with thy help, I can, I will, / do.'' 

This seemed to be the test point with him, and soon 
his faith appropriated the promise, and he was " endued 
with power from on high." 

Before the meeting closed all of his children professed 
conversion, and he found that he was "killed " only to 
"sin," but made gloriously alive unto God and the 
things of His kingdom. 



GETTING SAVED. 289 

Saved from Both Using and Selling Tobacco. 

I notice in your good paper of May i, that some 
good brother who is in the same business that I am 
engaged in (the grocery business), wishes to know if it 
is a sin to sell tobacco and cigars. 

You say in reply, " Don't sell any more tobacco and 
cigars." That, I think, is good advice, and the kind 
every minister should give to those engaged in the 
traffic, who claim to be the children of the dear Lord ; 
for, certainly, no man can sell it to the glory of God, 
and we are commanded to do all we do to His glory. 

The latter part of December, 1884, one Sabbath after- 
noon, while reading God's blessed Word in the study of 
my Sabbath-school lesson, just as I was about to take a 
chew of tobacco (a filthy habit that I had been a slave to 
for fourteen years) the thought came to me, *' This is 
a filthy habit. Why don't I quit it .? " I thought, the 
first day of January I will swear off. I had done this 
many times, but would swear on again in a few weeks. 
I thought, "Why not quit now.?" I said, "I will." 
I threw my plug away, and said : " If I live to be one 
hundred years old, I never will taste a piece of tobacco 
the size of a pin-head." Then I said : " Dear Lord, 
please take out of me the 'hankering ' for the stuff." 

From that time to this, almost five years, I have 
never wanted the stuff. Instead of desiring, I have 
abhorred it. This may seem strange ; for I chewed 
and smoked, and had a strong appetite for it ; but 
nothing is impossible with God, and all things are 
possible to them that believe. It is easy for the Lord 
to save us, if we will let Him, 



290 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

For one year after this, I continued the sale of it. 
My tobacco and cigar sales averaged about eight dollars 
per day, about ;^2,500 per year. About three-fourths of 
my customers used it. Nevertheless, I was condemned 
for continuing the sale of it. I felt I must quit it. I 
knew that if I did people would call me *' Non compos 
mentis^'' which they did. I would tell the Lord that 
*' Brother So-and-so and Preacher So-and-so used it, and 
sold it, and why must I quit it t If I do, my customers 
will leave me, and what must I do } " 

I could get no peace, until one day I said to the Lord, 
" I will never buy any more tobacco." This was, I 
think, in October, 1885. By January i, 1886, I was 
pretty well sold out. What little I had left I sold to 
a druggist, burned my tobacco license, and commenced 
the new year, 1886, without any of the stuff in my 
place of business. 

Of course it created quite a sensation. People came 
around and looked at me as though I was clear gone. 
It was not pleasant ; but I have lived through it, and 
prospered in my business, for my sales for 1886 were 
one thousand dollars better than any year previous with 
tobacco in stock. Last year my sales were nearly five 
thousand dollars more than any previous year. I am 
truly glad I gave up the sale of it. I will never com- 
mence it again unless I backslide. These are facts. I 
thought they might do some good in encouraging some 
one to give up the sale of tobacco, the twin-brother of 
whiskey. I was a slave to the latter too, but the dear 
Lord saved me from that also. Praise His name ! 
— T. A. WooDRESS, Trenton, Mo., in the Standard. 



GETTING SAVED. 291 

How io get Saved from ihe Tobacco Habit 

Rev. Wm. Taylor was saved from it in the following 
way. 

Any one who will make a like frank confession of 
the sinfulness of the habit, and then renounce it as 
firmly never to use it again, will doubtless gain a similar 
victory. 

When asked to relate this experience he said : — 

" I was at that time a local preacher living at Leslie, 
Mich. Rev. H. D. Jordan had preached a sermon in 
which among other things he showed the sinfulness of 
Christians using tobacco. I was behind the pulpit 
with him during the discourse, and when he had finished 
I arose and said : — 

" * I see my sin. I see the example I have been set- 
ting before the boys and young men of this community. 
I ask the forgiveness of the mothers of this place for 
the example I have set before their children, and now, 
God helping me, so long as I live I will never touch 
tobacco again.' 

"To my astonishment the next day I found that 
though I had used it excessively, I had gone hours into 
the day without thinking of it or having it come into 
my mind at all. 

" Something seemed to say to me all at once, * How 
about your tobacco "i ' 

** I found that I was entirely free from any desire or 
^.ppetite for it. 

"As I went down on the streets, some of my friends, 
who had heard the declaration of the previous night, 
playfully opened their boxes and asked me to partake. 



292 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

All desire was gone, and it was no more to me than the 
dust in the road : and from that day to this, over twenty 
years, there has never been one particle of a desire or 
longing for it. It is utterly repulsive. 

" There followed this a clearer spiritual vision than I 
had ever had before, which soon led me to enter into 
the experience of perfect love." 

Cremation of an Idol. 

" I used tobacco for twenty-five years. I tried to quit 
using it several times, knowing that my family needed 
the money, and that it was a nasty habit. I was real 
mean, abused my family, horses, and everything. After 
I was converted, I went on for a year using it, but the 
Lord condemned me. The Devil would come and say 
it was all foolishness, that the Lord was blessing me 
anyway. I went on, but didn't obey the Lord, till 
Rev. Thomas Young commenced meetings. They had 
gone on a week when he commenced holiness meetings, 
and I commenced seeking it. One afternoon the Lord 
shut me all off so I couldn't testify, and so my wife 
and I went home and had family worship, and she 
asked me what the matter was. I wouldn't tell her, 
only that I felt real bad. 

*' She retired, and I went to the safe, got my pipe, sat 
down by the stove, began to smoke. It tasted good, 
but I felt worse in my soul than I did before. I laid 
the pipe on the chair, knelt down, and I told the Lord 
to take everything out, and he blessed me as never man 
was blessed before. Glory to God ! My family came 
down-stairs and thought I was crazy. I took the 
wbolC;^ cigars, tobaccO; and all, put it in the stove and 



GETTING SAVED. 293 

burned it up, and the next morning I had no more de- 
sire for it than if there wasn't any. This was six years 
ago, and the Lord has kept me. Hallelujah ! " — Eaton 
Rapids Camp-Meeting Testimony. 

Why He Left the Lodge-Room. 

" What is your experience in regard to secret socie- 
ties } " was asked of Rev. Wm. Taylor, one of the ablest 
teachers of gospel truth in the State of Michigan. 

" I never felt that it was my mission to make a 
specialty of exposing them, as some are evidently called 
to do, but I had a little personal experience on that line 
about a week after I entered into the experience of 
perfect love." 

" Will you please relate it .? " 

** Yes, if you wish. 

*' I was kneeling in prayer, and suddedly the follow- 
ing questions came, and I was just as sure that they 
were from God as that I lived. 

" * Did you not consecrate all your time to God } ' 

"* Yes, I did.' 

" * How about the time you spend in the lodge-room : 
is that for my glory ? Do you go there to speak for 
Me .? ' 

" I remembered that most of my associates there were 
worldly people, and that it was against the rule to use 
the name of Jesus even in prayer, and was compelled to 
say,— 

" * No, Lord.' 

" * Did you not promise to use all your means only for 
my glory ? ' 

"'I did/ 



294 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

" ' Is the money you thus spend for my glory ? * 

" I saw clearly that it was not, and admitted it, and 
said, ^ What shall I do. Lord? ' 

" Clearly came the answer, * Come out from among 
them.' 

" I thought for a moment of the bonds that held me 
there, and of the many ways they had honored me, and 
felt that, if I left them, I should do so in an honor- 
able way, pay up my dues, and tell them my reasons for 
withdrawing. 

*' I prayed about it, went and paid my dues, and 
severed my connections forever with the lodge. The 
members were greatly surprised, and asked my reasons. 

" I told them I would be glad to give them, but if I 
said all I would wish to say they might call me down. 

" I offered to explain if they would give me the privi- 
lege uninterrupted to say what I wished to. 

" They voted me the privilege, and I gladly told them 
what God had shown me in regard to it, and preached 
to them Jesus. 

" Some said I would regret it and be back again ; 
others that I was a fool ; and others said that with my 
convictions I did the right thing. 

** I was blessed, and God was pleased, and thus ended 
my relation to the lodge. I sometimes tell this bit of 
experience, and God has blessed it to the good of 
others." 

" Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbe- 
lievers : for what fellowship hath righteousness with 
unrighteousness ? and what communion hath light with 
darkness ? '* 



GETTING SAVED. 295 



Grand io be a Christian. 

We were standing together on the decK of a steam- 
boat, out on the waters of Lake Michigan, looking miles 
away over the peaceful, glassy surface, and breathing in 
the fresh, pure air, when, somehow, the conversation 
turned upon dress. " Do you know," my cbmpanion 
said, "J thought last year I couldn't possibly get -through 
another summer without a new silk, and I told my hus- 
band so. A few weeks ago he said to me, 'What 
about your new silk dress .'* ' ' Oh,' I replied, ' don't 
talk to me of silk dresses, I do not care for one.' " 

" What has changed your mind in regard to the 
matter ? " I asked. 

"Ah, well, do you remember that Sabbath evening 
last winter when the subject for the discourse was 
Peace ? Oh, how I wanted that peace in my own heart ! 
and I went home and prayed, and prayed until nearly 
daybreak, when the peace came into my heart, and I 
was ready to exclaim aloud, so happy was I to know 
God had given me what I so much wanted. And 
I praise God this peace remains in my heart, and grows 
richer and deeper and sweeter all the time. Oh, how 
changed I am ! Why, I hardly know myself. I once 
loved parties, plays, dances, dress, and show, and all 
kinds of nonsense, but I care for none of these now, 
but enjoy the society of Christian people and good 
meetings, and, oh, yes — you remember my husband 
gave his heart to God about four weeks after that 
blessed Sabbath evening, and since then we have had 
in our home a family altar, and God meets us and 



296 REVIVAL KINDLI^TGS. 

blesses us so, it is worth more than all the silk dresses 
and jewelry in all the wide, wide world. 

" Why, Mrs. Knapp, when I came here from England, 
a few years ago, and my sister proposed that I should 
wash the dishes, I objected, because it would soil my 
hands. 

**What a useless piece of furniture I must have 
been ! " ' 

" When you were converted, had you any wrongs to 
make right } " 

" Indeed I had ; just next morning after the peace 
entered my heart, I thought of the man who owned the 
house we lived in last, and how we left it without pay- 
ing the last five dollars due him. I had meant to 
pay him some time, but because he treated us a little 
mean, I thought I would let him wait awhile. But that 
morning, with my heart so full of my new joy I could 
hardly wait to finish my morning's work before going 
to find the man, and I paid him the five dollars and an 
apology besides." 

" It was a little hard, was it not } " 

" Yes, a little. But it paid — it was so good to feel 
at peace with God and man. Oh, it's grand to be 
a Christian ! " — Mrs. M. W. Knapp. 

'' I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, 
that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou 
mayest be clothed" (Rev. 3 : 18). 

Saved as by Fire. 

He was my wife's brother. He was raised in a 
Christian home. Early he came to the point of Chris- 
tian decision, but decided wrong. Then he drifted 



GETTING SAVED. 297 

fast. He went into godless company, and he used 
tobacco to excess. He married unfortunately. His 
wife died. He was not at rest. He went to Northern 
Michigan, but was still discontented. Then to Ken- 
tucky, then to Missouri, but no rest. Disease arrested 
him, but he would not yield to God. His mother, 
father, and sister had the assurance of his conversion 
and would not let go. At the National Holiness camp- 
meeting at Eaton Rapids two years ago, he was deeply 
wrought upon, but would not yield. He went back to 
Missouri and to misery. Last winter in a meeting by 
Rev. E. A. Boynton, of the Michigan State Revival 
Band, an old schoolmate of mine and his was converted, 
and they all, then and there, prayed for the conversion 
of Charlie. That very day, he afterwards told us, an 
impulse seized him to read the Bible, As he read it, 
the burden of sin rolled away, and the peace of God 
came into his heart. He neglected to confess it, and 
soon got in darkness. A mere wreck, with hopes 
blasted, and health forever gone, he came home last 
July to die. His experience in the fiery furnace of 
affliction was a terrible one. But afterwards he thanked 
God, for it was that which conquered his rebellious 
heart. Finally, he was given up by his physician, and 
his sister was sent for to see him die. At this point, 
he saw himself, his sins, his Saviour, and all in their 
true light, yielded unreservedly, and received indubi- 
tably clear the witness of the Spirit to his conversion. 
Suddenly he began to mend. The tumor which was 
taking his life seemed to disappear, and he and many 
felt that he was being raised up to a life of usefulness. 
It was God's work, and marvellous in our eyes. He at 



298 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

once sought entire sanctification and received it one 
morning at the family altar. When the baptism came 
he said: "It seemed more than I could bear." He 
shouted aloud and praised God with a loud voice. 
"Mother," he said, "this spoils me for a Presbyterian." 
He had talked of being one if he ever was converted. 
His only ambition now was to save souls. He felt that 
soon he would be able to be with me in evangelistic 
work. He had a grand voice and gifts for a singing 
evangelist, just the helper it seemed that I needed. 
He could not keep what Christ had done for him to 
himself, but told it to many, and his words were blessed 
to the salvation of some. His life and' lips henceforth 
were full of praise. He spent ten days with us here in 
Albion, returning on Friday full of hope of being with 
me in the work by January first. The next Tuesday 
evening, December lo, to the surprise of all, he quietly 
passed into Paradise. 

His departure was the peaceful anchorage within the 
eternal harbor of a ship that had come well-nigh being 
wrecked forever. 

As his form was lying calm and cold in its coffin, I 
looked out beyond the eastern window. Right where 
the sun seemed about to rise, there was a cloud of 
gorgeous red and crimson. It was startlingly beautiful. 
Something seemed to say, " That cloud in its striking 
beauty is like the conversion of your brother." In a 
few minutes more I looked again, and lo ! the cloud 
was there, but so changed ! All of the most delicate 
tints imaginable seemed to vie with each other as to 
which could give the softest, most entrancing light. 
"This," whispered the comforting voice, "is like your 
brother's death." 



GETTING SAVED. 299 

Again I looked, and the cloud had entirely dis- 
appeared ; but shining where it had been, was the sun in 
all his kingly might. "This," echoed the triumphant 
voice, " is like your brother as he now is in Paradise." 

I was made to feel as never before the meaning of 
the Word which declares, " Let them that love Him be 
as the sun when he goeth forth in his might." 

His life, conversion, and transition are forceful 
reminders of the following facts : — 

1. God answers patient, persistent prayer ; though 
long delayed, the promised victory came. Workers, 
take courage. 

2. Human impressions do not change the Divine 
purpose. He, and nearly all, were confident of his 
recovery, but God planned on a higher plane. 

3. To reject light, and defer repentance, is to run 
into affliction's fires. 

4. Salvation must be confessed with the mouth, or it 
will be lost. 

5. One need not wait years or months after conver- 
sion before receiving the **gift of the Holy Ghost." 

6. When one receives this, speaking will be spon- 
taneous, and religion a luxury. 

7. Under this baptism much can be done in a little 
time. Charlie had it less than six weeks, but in that 
time accomplished more than many professors in a 
lifetime without it. To God be all the glory ! 

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 

"Papa Does Noi Know How to Pray." 

While our dear Brother Weber was conducting a 
revival at Sioux City, la., during the spring of 1886, I 



300 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

was led to a new life under a peculiar circumstance. 
Well do I remember that most important event of my 
life thus far. It was on Friday evening, May 6, 1886. 
After tea, putting on my coat and hat, I started down 
to my office, and, after passing through the gate, as it 
seems to me now, a whisper came to me, " Why not go 
to the meeting to-night ? " 

I turned, and paused for a moment. Just then my 
wife came out into the yard and asked me to go down 
to the church with her. I assented, and we started out 
for church. We took a seat pretty well back in the 
church. Brother Weber preached, and just before 
closing his sermon he gave a very earnest appeal to the 
unconverted to turn to the Lord for salvation. After 
waiting a few moments, and no one making a start, 
Brother Weber then related what a little five-year-old 
boy had said to him during the day at a place where he 
had made a call. He said that he had taken the child 
upon his knee, and asked him if he knew how to pray. 
He said, " Yes, I can pray. Sister and mamma can 
pray, and we all pray, but papa, and he does not know 
how to pray." 

This went to my heart like a sword. It was more 
than I could bear. It was my own dear littlci child, 
Georgie, who had said this, and whom God had used 
as the instrument to bring the father to the feet of Jesus. 

I shall never forget the twenty minutes which fol- 
lowed after Brother Weber had finished. He then 
made another earnest appeal to sinners to come for- 
ward ; then asked if there was not one soul in the 
house who would at least come forward and give him 
his hand. It seemed to me that I must accept sal- 



GETTING SAVED. 301 

vation there, and confess the Lord Jesus Christ as my 
Saviour, and if I went from the church I would never 
have another opportunity to do so. It seemed to me 
almost as if I were between two persons, and each had 
a power over me, and that I must yield myself to one 
or the other. One was trying to lead me to Jesus, the 
other was trying to drag me out of the church without 
my taking a stand for God. While in my seat, I remem- 
ber of calling to God for help to decide the question, 
and before the call had fairly been uttered, I found 
myself going down the aisle to give my hand to Brother 
Weber, and I then accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as 
my Saviour. — C. J. Clark. 

A Liiile Child Shall Lead Them. 

During a series of religious meetings, held in the 
schoolhouse of a small village, a very little girl became 
much interested for the salvation of her soul. Her 
father, a hater of Jesus, who lived next door to the 
place of the meeting, finding that his little daughter 
was much interested in the meetings, and had been 
prayed for, strictly forbade her again entering the 
house. The little girl was much distressed, and knew 
not what to do, but obeyed her father until the next 
meeting was nearly half through ; then, slipping out 
without his knowledge, and getting through a hole in 
the backyard fence, she hastily ran to the meeting. It 
was some time before her father missed her ; but when 
he found her gone, he went immediately to the meeting 
where she was on her knees with others whom the 
people of God were praying for. So enraged was he, 
that he went directly forward, and took her in his arms 



302 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

to carry her from the place. As he raised her froim her 
knees, she looked up with a heavenly smile, and said, 
" It is too late now, pa ; I have given my heart to the 
Saviour." This was too much for the hardened sinner ; 
he, too, sank on his knees, while he was prayed for ; 
and very soon he found the Saviour he had tried in vain 
to shut out from his daughter's heart. — SeL 

Conversion of a Noted Politician. 

The Evangelist Harrison had just finished his sermon 
at Mt. Tabor, N. J., on, "What shall it profit a man if 
he gain the whole world and lose his own soul .'' " when 
the invitation to the convicted was given. Several 
persons responded, among whom was a gentleman of 
intelligence who was on the outer edge of the circle. 
He walked deliberately through the immense audience 
and knelt at the bench in front of the platform. One 
of the workers approached, asking him if he were there 
to seek God for the pardon of his sins. With great 
decision and calmness of manner he replied, — 

" I am." 

" To comply with the conditions, you must give your 
heart to God, as He says : ' My son, give me thine 
heart' Will you do that .? " 

" I will. I think I understand the theory of salvation, 
but I want to realize the experience." 

"The first condition is, that you give your heart to 
God. Having done this, He accepts it, and your heart 
is thereupon His. Your next step is to accept the 
Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, and trust 
Him to save you now. Will you do that ? " 

"I will." 



GETTING SAVED. 303 

"Do you do it now?" After a long pause, he 
replied, — 

" I do." 

"Jesus says, 'Whosoever cometh unto me, I will in 
no wise cast out ; ' and on that word you are authorized 
to believe that He receives and pardons you now. Can 
you trust His Word to save you now .? " 

"I can." 

"Do you.?" 

" I do." 

"Then He saves you. Are you conscious of that 
fact .? " 

"lam." 

"Then He saves you now.?" 

"He does." 

" How do you know it .? " 

" I am conscious of it." 

" Then praise Him, and go from here, saying, ' I am 
the Lord's, and Jesus is my Saviour.' Keep saying it, 
and it will soon say itself. Now, stand on your feet, and 
witness to the fact that you are a saved man." With 
beaming face, he testified to the conscious forgiveness 
of sin, and to the blessedness of being found and saved 
by the Son of God. 

At the 6.30 p. M. meeting he was introduced to 

the audience, by the presiding elder, as Mr. D , 

ex-District Attorney, of County, and was requested 

to address the great congregation. He said, — 

" I came to Mt. Tabor on Saturday, for recreation, 
with no thought of serious matters on my mind. I am 
past sixty years, and have many times been impressed 
with the thought that it was my duty to become a 



304 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Christian, but have as often put it off. Under the 
searching sermon of this afternoon, I felt the time had 
arrived for decisive action, and I presented myself at 
this bench seeking the pardon of my sins ; and here, 
God, for Christ's sake, has pardoned and accepted me. 
My past life has been wasted. My great regret is that 
I did not sooner take this step ; and just here, let me 
appeal to you in this audience, who, like myself, may be 
putting off this most important matter, to settle it this 
very night ! " 

While the speaker was thus addressing the crowded 
auditorium, the marvellous change in the expression of 
his face was manifest to all. In the early part of the 
day, his countenance was covered with gloom and sad- 
ness ; now it was illumined with divine light and 
gladness. — Rev. J. C. Boyd, in Christian Witness. 

Conversion of Rev. Thomas Harrison, Evangelist. 

The Bible speaks of some Christians whose experience 
is like a morning without a cloud. For some years of 
my early life my own experience in a temporal way was 
like a morning without a cloud. I had everything to 
make me happy, and all my plans were for enjoyment. 
One summer morning I said to myself, " Now I am 
going to have a better time than ever I had before in 
my life," and I formed my plans to spend ten weeks in 
Nova Scotia ; and I bade farewell to father and mother 
and my brother, whom I loved better than life. And 
away I went, full of hope and joy ; but soon there 
came a time whenT heard the thunders of God's wrath 
breaking over my head, and He brought me down to the 
very edge of Death's cold stream, where the loved one 



GETTING SAVED, 305 

had gone over, and I saw him no more. A message 
came ; I broke the seal. Written on the inside were 
only three words : " Freddy is dead." Then I bowed 
myself down before God's judgments and cried to God 
to save me, that I might meet him again, and that was 
all I asked. That was one means that God took to 
awaken my soul — that was one line — and the other 
was my godly mother's prayers. Every morning she 
would have us close the doors after my father had gone 
early to business, and take her Bible and pray such a 
prayer as only mothers ever pray for their children. 
Sometimes I would get up when she was done praying, 
and hurry away lest she should see my tears. I 
would steal away to my room, and try to find relief. 
I bore a heartaching on account of my brother's death, 
and a spirit distressed because of my mother's prayers 
for me, until one time she seemed to pray longer and 
more earnestly than I had ever heard her before, and 
besought God for the salvation of her son, and cried, 
*' O, Lord, how long ! how long ! how long ! " I 
thought I should die. I tried to study ; I could 
not ; I tried to work ; I could not talk ; I could not 
do anything. I cried, " Lord Jesus, this darkness is 
too terrible ; I cannot bear it ; let one ray of light 
from the Infinite come down to my poor soul and 
show me the way." It was watch-night. My mother 
had gone to the meeting. I got up and left my 
home ; went into the street with an aching heart at 
1 1.45. I went out into the darkness and the snowstorm, 
and prayed that while God's snows were floating down 
from the heavens, God might send down from the 
depths of infinite mercy some little hope to my poor 



306 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

spirit. In five minutes I came to the lamp-post close 
by where the watch-meeting was, and heard them sing- 
ing the Covenant hymn, my mother's voice blending 
with the rest : and as I stood there, it seemed to me 
that the voice of God came to me as clearly as ever I 
heard the voice of my mother, saying to me, " Son, 
give me thine heart." I said to God: ''Lord, excuse 
me just now ; let me only go home. I can't get down 
here in the snow and cry for mercy ; the snow will 
blind me, and the wind will pierce me through — let 
me go home and get where it is warm, and I will give 
Thee my heart." Then there came to me a voice, 
louder by far than the loudest blasts of that December 
night, "Now or never." I believe. Dr. Vernon, as 
much as I believe I am standing in this church to-night, 
that if I had crossed the line that was just before me at 
that moment, and resisted God's Spirit, He would never, 
never have come to me again, and I should have been 
lost. The Bible speaks of the voice of God as being 
still. It was not that way with me. It was like the 
thunders of eternity. "Now or never." I heard it as 
I would hear my mother's voice. I stood there and heard 
the old village clock strike six times. I knew full well 
that within the church the followers of Jesus were 
covenanting for holy living for the time to come. The 
clock was striking ; I heard that voice saying in 
thunder-tones to my heart — in tones that pierced my 
very soul — " Before the tongue of that bell shall strike 
the last stroke, you must be saved or lost!" "My 
God," I cried, " can't I have a little time } Can't I be 
saved a moment later } " Again came that voice from 
the depths of the infinite, " Now or never ! " and it 



GETTING SAVED. 307 

seemed to me now that just about the tenth stroke of 
that bell, God Himself, from the depth of His unspeak- 
able mercy, stretched forth His Almighty arm and 
interposed, and said, '^ I will hold back the stroke of 
the bell while for one minute you look to me." It 
seemed to me a very long time between those two 
strokes of that bell, and, thank God, before the eleventh 
stroke rang out on the air, the pent-up feelings of my 
heart broke forth in one strong cry, '' Now ! " and the 
two " Nows ! " came together, God's Spirit answering to 
my own in an instant, and I found myself saved, 
reclaimed ! It was all right in the twinkling of an eye. 
I met the conditions — God blessed me. I came up to 
the requirements, God showered down the blessings. 
For four years His infinite mercy had been trying to 
kiss my poor soul ; His loving arms reaching out to 
embrace me, but I would not let Him. At last, all of 
a sudden, I extended my arms towards Him, and in a 
moment He kissed all my grief away. I did not think 
I was converted ; I knew it. — From " The Boy Preacher ^ 

Opium-Craving Destroyed. — There was a man 
who had been an opium-eater for eighteen years. He 
used to take enough every day to kill a dozen men, but 
the Spirit of the Lord began to work upon him, and 
he asked us to pray for him. For seven months now, 
he says, he has had no desire for opium, and the last 
time I was in New York I found him actively engaged 
in work for Christ. Let me tell you, my friends, the 
Son of God can save you from all these things. *' He 
is able to save unto the uttermost all who come unto 
God by Him." — Moody. 



308 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

Taken at his Word. — Mr. L was a confirmed 

infidel. He was also a slave to tobacco. This habit 
he hated. Many times he had struggled to be free 
from it. His struggles were fruitless. His slavery- 
grew more rigorous. In desperation he finally said : 
** If God will destroy the appetite I have for tobacco, I 
will believe in Him, give up my infidelity and become a 
Christian." In an instant the appetite vanished. 
Instead of loving, he now loathed it. He at once 
was converted and became a firm Christian. He since 
has gone home to heaven triumphant. 

O THE bitter pain and sorrow 

That a time could ever be, 
When I proudly said to Jesus, 

" All of self and none of Thee," 
All of self and none of Thee, 

All of self and none of Thee, 
When I proudly said to Jesus, 

" All of self and none of Thee." 

Day by day His tender mercy 

Healing, helping, full and free, 
Brought me lower, while I whispered, 

" Less of self and more of Thee," 
Less of self and more of Thee, 

Less of self and more of Thee, 
Brought me lower, while I whispered, 

" Less of self and more of Thee." 

Higher than the highest heaven, 

Deeper than the deepest sea, 
Lord, Thy love at last has conquered, 

" JVofie of self and a// of Thee, " 
A^one of self and a// of Thee, 

A/'ofie of self and a// of Thee, 
Lord, Thy love at last has conquered, 

" JVone of self and a// of Thee." — ^^/. 



SECTION XVI. 

RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 
" Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed ? " 

The work of the Holy Spirit in the plan of salvation 
is manifold. He convicts, renews, assures, sanctifies, 
illuminates, guides, and imparts all needed power. 
His sanctifying presence is to be sought by the believer 
just as definitely as pardon by the sinner. 

Many believers asleep to this fact have remained 
spiritual pigmies, when, if they had only availed them- 
selves of proffered privileges, they might have been 
spiritual giants. To lead believers to thus receive the 
Holy Spirit is an essential part of all genuine revival 
work ; hence this book would be sadly lacking with- 
out a chapter upon it. Many ministers preach this 
privilege, but it is often presented in such a general way 
that results are meagre. Believers should be urged 
just as ardently to meet the conditions upon which the 
Holy Ghost will come, as sinners to repent. 

The altar service, to help believers at this point, is 
just as essential as it is with the unconverted seek- 
ing pardon. Satan is alarmed at definite preaching, 
definite testimony, and definite altar work at this point, 
and in many ways seeks to hinder it. There are three 
things that Satan supremely hates to see: i. The con- 

C309J 



310 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

version of sinners. 2. The enduement of believers 
with the Holy Ghost. 3. Believers engaged in definite 
personal work to get others saved and fully sanctified. 

In order to " have power over all the power of the 
enemy," and foil him in all his hindering efforts, the 
baptism of the Holy Ghost is an imperative necessity. 
Although the subject has been treated largely in our 
other books, and by many able writers, yet, on account 
of its supreme importance, it must be noticed here. 
Heavenly Father, in Jesus' name, grant that the Holy 
Spirit may aid both in the writing and the reading 
of these pages ! 

Experience of the Aposiles. 

" And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they 
were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly 
there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty 
wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as 
of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were 
all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak 
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 
. . . Then they that gladly received his word were bap- 
tized : and the same day there were added unto them 
about three thousand souls." 

Before this their evangelistic efforts were feeble : 
afterwards they were cyclones. Before this they were 
hampered by fear, unbelief, false ambitions, and all the 
other hindrances which spring from a carnal nature : 
afterwards their hearts were purified by faith, and 
men "could not resist the wisdom and the spirit" by 
which they spake. 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 311 

The Roman Captain. 

Cornelius was a soundly converted man. There was 
no test of conversion that he did not meet. 

He was devout. 

He feared God. 

His "whole household" believed in his piety and 
were worshippers with him. 

He was liberal. He " gave much." 

He was a man of prayer, — prayed always. 
. God manifested Himself to him. He saw a vision. 

His prayers were answered, and his gifts acceptable 
to God, — " Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for 
a memorial before God." 

Though he was not instructed, and did not know 
just what name to call it by, yet, like all truly converted 
persons, he wanted the "gift of the Holy Ghost." We 
know by these signs that he was truly converted. 
He trampled every objection which Roman pride might 
suggest beneath his feet, and, heeding the voice divine, 
sent for Peter, the great holiness evangelist of that day. 
When Peter came he was anxiously awaiting him, and 
voiced the fulness of the consecration of himself and 
company in the following words: "Now therefore 
are we all here present before God, to hear all things 
that are commanded thee of God." 

Peter at once began to declare his message, and in 
the midst of it, "while Peter yet spake these words, 
the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 
And they of the circumcision which believed were aston- 
ished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the 
Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy 
Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and 
magnify God." 



312 REVIVAL Kimiimk 

The experience of Cornelius shows clearly — - 

That a man may be soundly converted and yet not 
have "received the Holy Ghost." 

That this is a gift to be received, and not a state to 
be grown into. 

That when the conditions are met the Spirit con- 
sciously comes. 

That God uses human agencies to aid in leading His 
people into this experience. 

That God gives the Spirit to them who obey Him. • 

That special meetings for the express purpose of leading 
believers to " receive the Holy Spirit " were sanctioned 
by Peter, and have the endorsement of the Holy Ghost. 

That conversion and " receiving the Holy Ghost " 
are not the same. 

That receiving the Holy Ghost and the obtaining 
of heart purity are identical; for when Peter reported 
this meeting to the apostles he said, "And God, which 
knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the 
Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us, . . . purifying their 
hearts by faith " (Acts 15:8, 9). 

The Ephesian Converts. 

"And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at 
Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts 
came to Ephesus : and finding certain disciples, he said 
unto them. Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye 
believed.-* And they said unto him, We have not so much 
as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he 
said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? 
And they said. Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, 
John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, 
saying unto the people, that they should believe on him 



kEClKIVINO fHE HOLY GHOSf, Sl3 

which should come after him, that is on Christ Jesus. 
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name 
of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands 
upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them ; and they 
spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men 
were about twelve." 

These converts were ''disciples." Like many to-day, 
they were truly converted, but had not received the 
Holy Ghost. They evidently were completely con- 
secrated and walking in the light. It is not probable 
that they had bad practices to abandon, nor godless 
associations to struggle over giving up, nor any dis- 
position to hesitate over such trifles. Therefore, 
as soon as their privilege was presented, they im- 
mediately "received the enduement from on high," 
and went forth rejoicing in the full favor of Him 
who " satisfieth the longing soul." 

Extract from Experience of Rev. G. D. Watson. 

After my wife had retired, I prayed for an hour, as 
was my custom. I would wait until all had retired, and 
then weep and pray. Perhaps the next day I would get 
mad, and my wife would say, "I am ashamed of you. 
I am afraid you have not a bit of religion, and you 
preaching as you do." I felt ashamed, and yet I would 
sometimes defend myself, and then get away and pray 
and cry over it. You know all about it — one half of 
your nature wanting God and the other not wanting 
Him. 

When these holiness folks came, I was teachable. 
So that Friday night I lay on the edge of my bed, with 
my hand under my cheek and my face toward the door, 



314 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

SO as not to disturb anyone. Then the Lord began to 
talk to me. " Will you do all for my glory .? " — " Yes, 
Lord." — ** Will you give me your right hand .? " — (I had 
always had a knack for writing.) — ''Yes, Lord. I will 
write on holiness." — "Will you let me make you a 
target for Indianapolis.?"— "Yes, Lord." — (And He did.) 
— " Suppose your wife will not believe and accept it, will 
you receive it-? " — " Yes, Lord." — " Will you consent 
for me to make your family sick — your wife sick } " — 
"Yes, Lord; give me the blessing." — "Will you let 
me take your health in my hand — give you bronchitis 
or consumption 1 " — " Yes, Lord." — " Any time I send 
for you, will you come } " — " Yes, Lord. Any time you 
want me to die, I will consent to go." — "Will you con- 
sent to leave those large appointments you have been 
having.-* Will you consent to take a poor appointment 
for me .? " — " Yes, Lord. I will take the poorest 
appointment in Indiana if it is Thy will." — (I'll tell you 
there are some poor ones in Indiana.) — "Suppose your 
wife should grieve over it } " — - " Well, she must grieve 
it out." — " Suppose I want you to go and preach among 
the Freedmen, will you go.?" — I said, "Yes, Lord, if 
it is Thy will, I will go South and preach among the 
Freedmen, and live on corn bread and fried meat." — (I 
want you to understand I have never taken back any of 
that consecration. I would go to-morrow and fill that 
bill.) — " Will you give up your tobacco, that your body 
may be my clean temple.?" — (I had tried several times 
to give it up, but would go back to it again.) — I said, 
"Yes, Lord, I will give it up. I will do anything. 
Give me the blessing." 

I do not suppose He will bring all these tests to pass, 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 315 

but He made me willing. When I got all through I 
dropped to sleep. I do not know how it was, but 
when I waked up next morning I found the appetite for 
tobacco was gone. 

I went to the funeral of a child. The Lord helped 
me to talk. The mother of the child knew the differ- 
ence. She said, " I never heard you talk that way in 
my life." 

I went back to the holiness meeting. They were 
giving a Bible reading. You see the Lord knew just 
how to deal with me. He arranged that meeting just 
at the right time. Well, I went into the meeting and 
said, '* I am going to tell you something I have never 
told you before. I have given up all, and I do not 
know what to do but to believe. I am wholly conse- 
crated, and I say I am cleansed because God says it." 
There was a sermon on holiness Sunday morning, by 
Dr. Pearne. I enjoyed it. Another in the evening, and 
I enjoyed that. Monday noon I went into my study 
and began reading the Scriptures ; began with the first 
chapter of First Peter : ** Peter, an apostle of Jesus 
Christ, . . . elect according to the foreknowledge of 
God the Father, through sanctificatioh of the Spirit." 
I stopped. "There," said I, "that is sanctification." 
" Whom having not seen, ye love. (" I do love Thee, 
and I know Thou lovest me.") In whom, though now 
ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy 
unspeakable and full of glory." As I uttered these 
words, God let loose such a Niagara of salvation in my 
soul that I felt I was about to burst. I walked back 
and forth shouting, " Glory to God ! " Something in here 
seemed to say, "This is the Spirit." It seemed I could 



316 iiEVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

see the bottom of my heart, and all the bad was gone. 
A sister came in and said, "You have got it." She 
said, " The angels are here." I replied, " I don't care 
for your angels ; Jesus is here." 

The next Sunday I preached on holiness. They 
said, *' We have a new preacher." Two hundred souls 
were converted. 

Through Faith. 

The following, from the experience of a faithful minis- 
ter, Rev. John C. Beach, has been given at my request. 

*'I entered into the experience of heart purity at the 
Eaton Rapids Camp Ground, July, 1886. I told my 
experience, and on my return home preached upon the 
theme. The Bible seemed filled with holiness as 
never before. When the Whitelake Grove Meeting 
was announced, I rejoiced in the prospect of attending 
with some of my church, and was not disappointed, 
for God blessed us most wondrously. Some of our 
number entered into the new life. I was greatly 
strengthened in telling others what God had done for 
me, and in leading others to accept Jesus as a present 
Saviour from all ^in. The consciousness of the abiding 
presence of Jesus in my heart to cleanse from sin and 
set apart and fill with the Holy Spirit, is the most 
precious experience of my life. I used to think this 
experience of perfect love was not a special work, done 
at a definite time, but that I should grow into it. But, 
whether right or wrong in my theory, I did not have 
the conscious freedom from the Maw of sin which was in 
my members* till, through faith, I reckoned myself ' dead 
indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus 
Christ our Lord.' It does not take God ton years nor 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 317 

ten months nor ten days to do a work of grace 
in the heart, when by faith we ask Him to do 
it ; so I found Him able to take the roots of sin 
out of my heart, and to keep me from falling, as I 
trust Him." 

The above forcibly illustrates — 

That "receiving the Holy Spirit" is an instanta- 
neous experience. 

That it gives clearer spiritual vision, so that the 
" Bible seems filled with holiness as never before." 

That a profession of it imparts strength. 

That it leads to the salvation of others. 

That it is an intensely conscious experience. 

That to cease believing is to cease receiving. 

That expecting the blessing at an indefinite time 
brings an indefinite experience. 

Experience of a Layman. 

" I attended the grove meetings only evenings, 
with one exception, up to and including Friday even- 
ing during the first week, with little or no unusual 
feeling of the religious responsibility resting upon me than 
I had had for years, although feeling and knowing that 
there was something higher and holier for Christians to 
enjoy than I enjoyed, or the great mass of Christians 
did enjoy. On Friday afternoon, Aug. 6., through 
the leadings of the Holy Ghost, our presiding elder, 
"whom we all knew, and only knew him to love him for 
his sweet Christian manner and kind words, had had a 
wonderful struggle, on account of, as he termed it, his 
leanness and want of entire purity of heart. Providen- 
tially or otherwise, he remained over night at my 



318 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

house, as also did another minister who enjoyed this 
great blessing of full salvation. My curiosity induced 
me to ask him (against the protests of my good wife) 
to tell me his experience, as he had during the after- 
noon come into the full enjoyment of this simple but 
wonderful blessing, and I desired to obtain this higher 
state of Christian experience. He readily assented, 
and it is needless to say his experience was listened to 
with the greatest interest, and upon my part, anxiety. 
We were nearing the small hours of the night when he 
was through. He then added, *Now, Bro. B — , you 
may as well settle this matter here and now as to 
wait.* And suiting the action to the word, he said to 
the minister present, ' Bro. B — , you pray, and Sister 
B — , you follow, and you (meaning myself) follow Sister 
B — ,' and intimating that he would close. I have been a 
member of the church thirty-five years, and I thought 
I was a Christian, and now believe I was sincere. I 
have faced batteries and shot and shell, but I think I 
never was quite so upset as upon this occasion, I am 
ashamed to say ; but the programme was fully carried 
out, with one exception (that of myself), although I 
made the attempt. But oh, how hollow and barren I 
felt ! I tried to trust the Lord, but the heavens 
seemed like brass over me. We retired immediately 
after rising from our knees, with simply a good-night. 
I tried to pray after I retired, and the night passed 
away with intervals of sleep and wakefulness and 
prayer. The morning dawned, and I cannot better 
express myself than I did to Bro. B — , as we met in 
the morning : — I felt as I imagine a man would climb- 
ipg a high mountain in the forest and in the dark- 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 319 

ness, but as day began to approach, he could see the 
rays of the morning sun peering and streaking through 
the trees, over the mountain-top. I felt like saying, 
* Praise the Lord ! * but still I had not reached the point I 
desired. I went to a neighboring town on business. 
After transacting the business in hand, I could not 
remain. I was uneasy, but could not return by railroad 
till a quarter past eight in the evening. I hired a team, 
and returned to the grove meeting in time for the 
afternoon service, praying in my heart that I might 
come fully into God's favor, that I might be cleansed 
from all inbred sin. When the invitation was given 
for seekers of full salvation to bow at the anxious 
seat, I obeyed, and deliberately, with my wife, bowed 
at the mourners* bench, and there, to the best of my 
poor abilities, consecrated myself fully to the Lord. I 
believed, I trusted His promises, and such a blessing 
as I received none but those who have experienced it 
know. I could only say, 'There is no doubt about it 
now, praise the Lord ! * 

" But, as usual, the tempter was busy. The follow- 
ing morning, while lighting the fire, a feeling of 
ugliness came over me. The tempter said, *You 
made a fool of yourself yesterday at the grove meeting. 
What a fool you have been ! ' I retired to my room, 
and talked it all over with the Lord, and He taught me 
that it was a trick of the evil one ; and I was enabled 
to rejoice in the God of my salvation. From that 
moment until the present I have not had a doubt, but 
I have enjoyed a peace, a joy, and sweet rest, that none 
but those who have experienced the same can realize. 

**Dear reader^ it is for you, Christ says, * Seek, and 



320 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.' 
Oh, if I had only enjoyed this wonderful blessing years 
ago, how much more good I might have done, how 
much better a husband and father I might have been ! " 



The above experience is given in the brother's own 
language. Were his name given, many would recognize 
it. The following facts in his experience are worthy of 
especial thought. 

1. Though thirty-five years a Christian, all along 
he had felt that he was living beneath his privilege, 
with a ** higher and holier state within his reach." 
How many have passed through or are in a similar 
experience } May all such resolve to go up at once 
and possess the goodly land ! 

2. He was brought directly to the point by his 
friend's appeal, '* You may as well settle the matter 
here and now as to wait." May every reader who has 
not " received the Holy Ghost " listen to this advice, 
which is God's own truth, and receive Him now ! 

3. He had "faced batteries and shot and shell, 
but was never so upset " as then. Whenever a person 
seeks this earnestly, Satan is alarmed, for he knows 
that it means ruin to his kingdom ; and so he always 
marshals against such all the enginery of hell, com- 
pared with which, the shot and shell of human imple- 
ments of war are as grains of sand. 

4. The reception of the blessing was preceded by 
a night passed " with intervals of sleep and wakeful- 
ness and prayer." This is frequently true, though not 
necessarily so. The soul must reach a point where it 
cares niore for this than for sleep or food or aught else. 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 321 

5. It was a conscious experience. He could 
exclaim, "There is no doubt about it now!" God's 
presence is felt ; and when one feels it, he knows it, 
whether a philosopher or a little child. 

6. It was a refining experience. He burst out 
with, " Praise the Lord ! " One of the marvellously 
mysterious actions of the Holy Spirit is that He will 
take a soul that is out of all harmony and tune it to 
vibrate in unison with the harmonies of the heavens, 
so that in multitudes of instances that song-prayer, — 



'Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, 
Tune my heart to sing Thy praise," 



has found fruitful answer. 

7. The Spirit's baptism was followed by a fierce 
assault of Satan. It was so with the apostles. Pente- 
cost was followed by bitter persecutions, fierce assaults 
from Satan and his servants. "Receiving the Holy 
Spirit simply prepares for temptation, but does not 
exempt from it." Reader, what it did for this brother 
it will do for you. 

Experience of a Minister's Wife. 

She was well known to the writer. Her father was 
formerly his pastor and helped him into the ministry. 
Her husband is a warm personal friend. She wrote 
her experience at my request. Referring to the work 
of the Holy Spirit within, she wrote : — 

" I have not until very lately known much about it, 
and from what I did know had become very strongly 
prejudiced against it. I found myself at the White- 
lake Grove Meeting with my mind so full of this 



322 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

feeling that the very thought of kneeling at the altar 
and seeking for this grace roused within me the most 
intense feelings of antipathy to the whole plan. Every 
fibre of my being rebelled against it. But when I 
heard the doctrine set forth by those who knew what it 
was by experience, I could see nothing in it that ought 
to so terrify me ; but, on the other hand, it seemed to 
be the gateway to just such a life as I longed to live, — 
such a life as would make me useful in the vineyard. 
I felt that I must have the experience, whatever I 
thought of the doctrine, and sought it, but with very 
indifferent success. A little light came before I left 
the grounds ; all that I would let in. But after return- 
ing home I made a complete consecration, and found a 
quiet peace and rest for a day or so, and freedom from 
the old-time impatience. But Satan would not let me 
off so easy, and I questioned my experience and studied- 
the doctrine and my feehngs until the joy was gone 
and misery and doubt returned. A few days, and I was 
satisfied with that kind of experience ; but then I feared 
God would never hear me again, because of sin against 
so great light ; but He did, and I reconsecrated myself 
and could feel again the warmth of His presence. I 
have learned a little of what it means to sing, — 

" * O glorious Fountain, 
Here will I stay, 
And in Thee ever 

Wash all my sins away ! ' 

It means something to stay there as well as to go there. 
" I find this new life, in so far as I have gone, satis- 
factory beyond all previous experience, though I arn 
fully aware that I am as yet only at the portal," 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 323 

The above experience is written by one who has been 
highly favored in both educational and religious privi- 
leges. Her testimony is therefore a forceful illustration 
of the facts — 

(i) That great opportunity does not insure " receiving 
the Holy Ghost." 

Only *' they that do the will " have the promise of 
knowing the doctrine. 

(2) That prejudice debars from privilege. 

How many, under the influence of prejudices, like this 
person, have felt " every fibre of their being " rebel against 
meeting the conditions upon which rests this baptism 
from above ! Thank God, Jesus can melt it all away. 

(3) Prejudice disappears on the reception of divine 
truth. 

In a short time she could say, " It seemed to be the 
gateway to just such a life as I longed to live." Such 
will be the decision of every one who will receive the 
truth as written in the Word and experienced in the 
lives of those who gain and retain this baptism from 
above. 

(4) This Fire may be lost by analyzing doctrine and 
depending on feeHngs instead of obediently looking to 
Jesus. 

Many like her, on this account, have been compelled 
to say, "The joy was gone, and misery and doubt 
returned." To such the Word prescribes the unfailing 
counsel, '* As )-e have therefore received Christ Jesus 
the Lord, so walk ye in him." 

(5) Though lost, it may be regained. 

It comes upon the meeting of the fixed conditions of 
obedience and trust, departs upon the violation of those 



324 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

conditions, but comes again if they be met. If they be 
constantly met, it will continually abide. If ever it is 
lost, let no one rest until, like the one in this experience, 
they can " feel again the warmth of His presence." 

(6) '' It means something to stay as well as to go " 
to the Fountain. 

To go may be the act of a moment : to stay is the 
act of a lifetime. Praise God, all who will stay will 
find this "new life satisfactory beyond all former 
experience.'* 

The Secret Revealed. 
We have permission to print the following instructive 
extract from a letter of Mrs. Rev. J. C. Floyd to Mrs. 
Rev. W. Taylor. Among other things she mentioned 
the following : — 

"After I went to the altar that one time, the year 
when you knelt by me and wished to help me, I resolved 
not to go any more. I was almost desperate. Such a 
despair of ever receiving the blessing settled upon me, 
and my heart was so bitter and sad, that I did not know 
what to do or where to go. I wanted to talk with you 
all through the meeting, and yet no favorable oppor- 
tunity presented itself; and then my case seemed so 
hopeless at times that it seemed useless to talk with 
anyone. Sometimes I thought I should go insane, and 
scarcely cared if I did. Monday was a fearful day. I'll 
never forget it. When I went to bid you and Bro. 
Taylor good-by, how my heart did ache for help I felt 
sure you could give me ! It was as if you were in pos- 
session of a secret that would make a way of escape for 
me and yet I had no way of getting it from you. But 
Jesus had the secret. He gave it to me. It set me 
free. Praise His name ! 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 325 

" A number of the dear faithful workers stayed with 
me at the altar till midnight that evening. Never did 
human sympathy seem so precious to me. How I bless 
them in my heart for their prayers, instructions, and 
words of sympathy ! I felt so sorry to keep them up 
when they needed rest. I told them not to do it, to go 
and leave me and get to rest, but I must stay. But 
they would not go, and may the Lord reward them for 
their self-sacrifice. 

"I was fully determined I would have an evidence. 
The simple way of trust I avoided. I had set my heart 
on some demonstration of the Spirit I could call an 
evidence. Finally I was led to see that I could not 
have this evidence until I trusted, and that all my 
wrestling was vain till I surrendered that item of will, 
and, * evidence or no evidence,' * feeling or no feeling,' 
launched out on God's own Word, and believed that the 
altar does sanctify the gift. So I did it and gave up 
the struggle. Next morning I awoke with something 
saying in my heart, ' 'Tis done.' Instantly it was con- 
tradicted by another, * No, it is not ; you have no 
evidence that it is; wait and find out.' * No,' I 
answered, ' I'll not wait ; I've settled it forever. It is 
done and I'm bound to believe it.' But that doubting 
voice would speak every now and then, and for an 
instant darkness would follow ; and yet grace helped me 
to affirm, * It makes no difference how dark it gets, I'm 
going to persist in believing it is done and I'm going to 
say so.' Then the song of peace in my heart would 
sound a little louder, a little clearer. But it was such a 
little weak song, yet so precious ! I had a chance to 
say so in a few minutes. A sister said, ' Is it all right } ' 



326 REVIVAL KINDLINGS, 

I said, '*Yes,' with an assurance that surprised me. In 
the love feast I said so again. My trust, unhke any 
previous trust, takes care of itself. I do not feel 
obliged to worry about it. I'm tempted to sometimes, 
but I know it to be temptation. The world has a new 
look to me and I have quietness and sweetness of spirit. 
An old trial or two, that ever and anon filled my heart 
with bitterness and subjected me to special temptation, 
are as if they had never been. They have ceased J;o 
canker. 

" I have not had the particular evidence I coveted, but 
my faith takes on the form of assurance. A feeling of 
thankfulness comes to my heart every time I hear this 
much-discussed, much-read-about subject mentioned, 
that for me it is, at last, a settled question. I find it so 
restful. Sometimes I cannot say I *feel the cleansing 
blood applied,' but I do ' confide ' in it all the time. 

*' Thanks be to * grace divine, so wonderful.'. . . 
I just want to add that Bro. Taylor, saying that 
sometimes he had been obliged to just cling right on to 
God by naked faith, has helped me much. So does the 
experience of one help another when we know it not. 
The words, * By naked faith,' and, * Feeling or no feel- 
ing,' are among my watch words." 



Among the many lessons to be learned from the above 
are the following : — 

Jesus can help when all others fail. 

Conviction for it precedes '' receiving the Holy Ghost." 

Soul rest comes through believing the Word and 
honoring it above all other evidence. 

Tears, wrestling, and agony cannot be substituted 
for complete submission and trust. 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 327 

The assurance that the work is wrought often comes 
in a different way from what we expect. 

The exercise of faith in the promises which offer 
the victory must be persisted in, regardless of feeUng, 
until it becomes a fixed habit. 

The public acknowledgment of the grace received 
strengthens self and is a blessing to others. 

Fully Saved. 

A few years since, I visited a lady member of my 
church, who was sick. She was not regarded by her- 
self or by her physician as critically ill. She said to 
me, •' I have been long a member of the church, but I 
am not converted. I want to be saved." I pointed 
her to Jesus, explained the way to salvation, and 
prayed with her. When I returned to see her a few 
days later, I found her very happy in the consciousness 
of sins forgiven, and in a clear acceptance with God. 
Day by day she grew worse physically, but continued 
happy spiritually. About the third week after I began 
to visit her, as I entered her room one morning, I 
noticed a shadow over her countenance, and that her 
usual gladness was wanting, when she said to me, with 
tears in her eyes, "I know I have a new heart, and 
that God has accepted me, but I'm not satisfied. 
There is some ill will in my heart toward a neighbor, 
and impatience toward my husband and the children. 
This troubles me." I explained to her that the Holy 
Spirit was disclosing to her the sinful tendencies of her 
heart, and that, as God had given her a new heart. He 
would also give her a clean heart, if she would seek it 
and trust the Word of Jesus for it, as she had believed 



328 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

on Him for pardoning grace. Oh, the eagerness with 
which she hstened to this gospel of full salvation ! I 
returned to s^e her the day following. So soon as I 
entered the room, she exclaimed, " Oh, Jesus has 
cleansed my heart ; it is all love now ! " Her ecstasy 
was boundless. She was fzi/fy saved. In this holy 
frame of soul she continued almost a week, when the 
Master came for her. As I held her hand, chilling in 
death, she said, " I did not think when you first came 
I was going to die ; but Jesus has converted me and 
cleansed me, and now I am going home." About mid- 
night she entered the heavenly rest. Here was a soul 
who, in the brief period of four weeks, found pardon, full 
salvation, and eternal redemption in heaven. — Rev. S. 
A. Keen, in T/ie Way of Faith. 

''Promised io Keep those Rules." 

The following very suggestive experience was related 
by a Methodist Episcopal minister : — 

" Not quite three years ago I was soundly converted 
to God. The evidence was clear, bright, and strong, 
and I have never doubted my acceptance since. About 
four weeks after my conversion I felt the uprisings 
of inbred sin, and became very much alarmed, and 
not a little perplexed, not knowing how to account for 
the presence of anger, pride, malice, and envy, now 
that I was a Christian. I took the matter to God in 
earnest prayer, and after an experience of about seven 
months, I was enabled to reckon myself * dead indeed 
unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our 
Lord.* My experience, which had hitherto been rough 
and uneven, down in the valley one day and on the moun- 



DECEIVING THE BOLY GHOST. 329 

tain-top the next, became smooth and even ; no great 
raptures of joy, but a deep peace took possession of my 
soul. I knew that Christ was all and in all. 

" Now for the most trivial part of my experience, 
which took place at Whitehall Camp Meeting. When 
I left home, my precious mother, who of course is fond 
of her boy, seeing I had no watch-guard, gave me a 
neat, mohair chain, mounted with gold. I hesitated 
for a moment, and then, thinking there could not pos- 
sibly be any harm in that, I put it on and wore it. But 
I always felt a little bit ashamed when I caught a 
glimpse of it. When I got into a meeting I would 
button my coat up so that no one could see my chain. 
Things went on at this rate until I arrived at White- 
hall. When I got into my room at night I took my 
chain off and threw it into my satchel, having made up 
my mind not to have my peace disturbed, even by a 
little thing. Now for the buttons. One day, while 
Rev. J. A. Rawlinson was exhorting believers to put 
away everything that would prevent their receiving the 
Spirit, he touched the question of personal adornment, 
and mentioned gold cuff buttons among the number 
of useless ornaments that Christians wore. I don't 
know whether he was talking for my benefit or not ; 
but when he said we ought at least to be consistent, 
and keep the rules of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
which forbade the wearing of gold, I said, * That settles 
it. I promised to keep those rules, and I am going to 
do it or leave the Church, even if people do think that 
I am growing fanatical.' I quietly removed the gold, 
and must confess that God has blessed me in a truly 
wonderful manner for even this trivial act. I pray 



330 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

that God will enable me to cast everything aside that 
would cast a shadow in my soul, or that would prove a 
barrier in the path of souls on their way to God and 
heaven." 



The above experience illustrates clearly that — 

(i) Clear evidence of conversion precedes the incom- 
ing of the Holy Ghost. 

He declared his evidence of conversion to have been 
"clear, bright, and strong," yet shortly was conscious 
of "uprisings of inbred sin." How like the experience 
of Isaiah before the " live coals " touched his lips, and 
like the disciples before the pentecostal fire ! 

(2) Perplexity should drive to prayer. 

He was "perplexed," "took the matter to God in 
earnest prayer," and a "deep peace took possession 
of his soul." Had he have gone to books or friends, 
they might have said, "You're all right; all you need 
is to just keep on trying to grow" ; and thus he might 
have gone on stumbling and perplexed through life, with 
the deadly leprosy of sin within, instead of having it 
cleansed away. Or perhaps the advice would have been, 
"Your troublous inbred sin is a part of your human 
nature, and Christ cannot cure it. All that you can do 
is to try your best to keep it down." And had he have 
listened to this, instead of keeping it down, it would 
have kept him down, and instead of being the victorious 
soul-winner that he is, he would have been a hampered, 
harassed hinderer of work divine. Or perhaps he 
would have imbibed the sulphurous notion, born in the 
pit, that "man needs indwellmg corruption to keep 
him humble" ; and then, reasoning that if that view be 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 331 

true, then the more corruption a man has the more 
humble he will be, he might have become as sadly- 
depraved as some who advocate that view. Bu* 
instead, he went to God and His Word, and held the 
matter before Him, until the light broke, the Fire 
fell, and he was free. 

(3) The Holy Spirit so prepares its possessor that 
as soon as duty is seen he gladly does it. 

As soon as convinced that wearing gold, though in 
itself a trivial act, was a violation of his Church vows, 
and grieved the Spirit, he quickly laid it aside. 

(4) None need wait long years after conversion 
before receiving the wondrous baptism. 

Only "seven months," with none but God to teach 
him, and the mighty endowment was his. Only a few 
weeks since, I saw a lady deeply convicted and brightly 
converted one day, and the next day just as deeply con- 
victed of inbred sin and as consciously possessed of the 
pearl of perfect love. In the warmth of such an experi- 
ence as this brother enjoys, one from a full heart can 
say : — 

" Tell me not of heavy crosses, 
Nor of burdens hard to bear, 
For I've found this great salvation 
Makes such burdens light appear. " 

"/Ve Got It" 

But the time came when I felt something more was 
needed. I felt that there was something vastly higher, 
greater, richer, than anything that I then knew anything 
about. I felt this great need in my heart ; and I went 
into a Methodist book store, and I said : " Give me 
* Fletcher's Plain Account * ; give me * Carvosso ' ; give 
me * Bramwell ' ; give me * Lady Huntington ' ; give 



332 REVIVAL Kindlings. 

me * Madame Guyon ' (a Roman Catholic, but one 
who had said, " I received it at noon-day, in my sitting- 
room, by faith " — without the aid of priest, bishop, or 
archbishop — ''by faith ") ; give me * Fenelon ' " (the 
mightiest CathoUc that ever lived, who lived so near 
God's throne that he shook Rome to the centre, and 
when he died the people kissed the very chairs in which 
he sat while living). With all these books under my 
arm I started home, and well I might. Then I read the 
books and I read God's Word, and I cried day and 
night that I might have the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 
But, as the children of Israel by their own unbelief were 
kept wandering about in the wilderness for forty years, 
when they might as well have gone into the promised 
land in as many days, so I was in the wilderness of 
doubt and uncertainty two long years without experi- 
encing the fulness of God's love, whereas I ought not 
to have been without it that many hours. Why was 
this? Because I was unwilling to trust to Jesus — to 
look to Him without an *'if." I was not ready to say : 
" I will have the blessing of a clean heart. I will have 
full salvation. God has promised it and it shall be 
mine." There was the trouble. Wesley says that a 
member of one of his congregations received this 
wonderful baptism of the Spirit within five hours after 
conversion. He says you may receive it right along 
with the pardon of your sins, if you will. I did not so 
receive it ; and this night, before God and men, I bow 
my head in shame and confess to Him and to you that 
in my inmost soul I am sorry that I stayed away, 
distrusting Christ, but studying books, studying the 
Bible, and doing everything I could but the one thing 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 333 

that would have brought the blessing to my poor heart. 

But, thank God, the time came when I reached a 
point where I said, "Now I will enjoy this cleansing 
in the blood of the Lamb or die." I had become as 
desperate as some have been at this altar. I said, 
" Now I will lay the books all aside, and this one after- 
noon shall be all knee-work." I went into the 
mountain, where no voice could reach me and no eye 
could see me and no ear could hear me but God's, and 
I got down on my knees to pray, and pray as the 
fathers of Methodism used to pray, to struggle long 
and mightily with God for the blessing. I had made 
my mind up to pray that way, but I didn't do it ; for I 
had not been but a little while on my knees before God 
flashed upon my mind and through every avenue of my 
soul the truth that there was a better way than long 
and hard struggling with God for His blessing upon a 
human soul. I got upon my knees, and first I had a 
talk with my knees themselves. I said to them, 
" Now you might as well come right down to it, for I 
am not going to get up until God gives the victory." 
I looked at my watch and said, " If I ^on't get the 
blessing before the academy bell rings I will stay here 
until morning." 

Now, as sure as God is love, when Christians get 
desperately in earnest with God, something is going to 
happen, and that something is sure to be victory and 
cheer and blessing. 

How long did I kneel .-* Thirty minutes, think you } — 
No. — Ten minutes.^ — Never. — Five minutes.? — Not at 
all. No, thank God. I wanted to see how long it was 
before God heard and answered me ; and out came my 



334 REVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

watch at the end of three minutes and I jumped to my 
feet with a shout that must have made the birds in the 
tree-tops start from their nests in alarm : " Glory to God ! 
I've got it ! I've got it ! " It has never left me for a 
moment. — Thomas Harrison, in "The Boy Preacher." 

Hindrances to Receiving the Holy Spirit 

Indefinite seeking. 

The fallacy that it is only for a select few. 

Holding on to something forbidden. 

Many have confessed that they were led at this point 
to give up the lodge ; others, tobacco and opium ; others, 
worldly adornment — jewelry, and fashionable and costly 
attire ; others, their reputation ; others, an ambition for 
power and position for self ; others, the good opinion 
of worldly people ; and others, their own plans for 
life. 

As Jacob had to yield Benjamin before he could get 
the corn, and as in yielding him he received the corn 
and found his long-lost Joseph, so the candidate for 
receiving the Holy Spirit must yield his Benjamin, what- 
ever it is, and in doing so he will get both the blessing 
and the Blesser. 

How to Retain the Holy Spirit. 

Keep obedient. At the Rapids Camp Meeting, 
Miss Isabella Leonard, evangelist, told of a Chris- 
tian whom she knew who lived victorious and died 
triumphant. Soon after she "received the Holy 
Ghost," the question came to her, " Is that bonnet of 
yours such as a sanctified person should wear t " She 
said, " No," and soon adjusted it accordingly. Another 



RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 335 

question was : " Does the wearing of that watch chain 
glorify me ? " — ** No," and that too was soon laid aside. 
To every question propounded by the Spirit and the 
Word, she yielded a ready assent, and soon, in this 
way, developed a strong, sweet, symmetrical, sanctified 
character. 

Definitely acknowledge your reception of Him, and what 
He does for you. Thousands have fallen by disregarding 
this. 

Keep believing. Yield and Trust are the two keys 
that open the door of the soul temple for the Holy 
Spirit to enter ; and the same keys, and they are the 
only ones, will lock Him in. Don't lose them nor lay 
them aside for one moment. 

Importunity Prevails. — A woman came to one 
of our afternoon meetings and said : "■ I have, for a 
number of days, been seeking the baptism of the Holy 
Spirit, but I sought all in vain. I arose at two o'clock 
this morning and remained on my knees, fasting and 
praying, until nearly time for the bell to ring. Well, 
He came, and I cannot express the joy His presence 
brings." Had she been enough in earnest to have 
fully yielded and believed, those days and hours 
of perplexity might instead have been those of com- 
plete victory. 

Experience of Stephen. — Stephen was a layman. 
Satan failed signally to make him beheve that the "gift 
of the Holy Ghost " was only for the ministry. He con- 
secrated all, and asked for and received the Holy Spirit. 
Then, " full of faith and power," he did more in one 
short Bible reading than many ministers do in a 
lifetime. He was falsely accused and brought before 



336 BEVIVAL KINDLINGS. 

the council. As its members " looked steadfastly " 
upon him, his face shone with the glory which was 
shrined within ; and instead of defending himself, he 
took the opportunity to tell them of Jesus and warn 
them of their peril. God was so well pleased with this 
that He permitted the mad mob to break the cords that 
bound the martyr's exultant spirit to his body, and he 
was received at once to an appointment in the skies. 



SClie €nlr. 



A LETTER TO EACH WHO liEADS THIS BOOK. 



Dear Reader : 

In Jesus* name, greeting. I am glad in this way to have made your 
acquaintance, and trust that you have been as richly blessed in reading 
the preceding pages as I was in preparing them. As I am at present 
unable to preach with my voice, I take this way to proclaim the gospel. 

To help in this work, I wish to ask of you a favor, and trust that I 
may be able to grant you one in return. I design preparing, God will- 
ing, volume No. II. of " Revival KindUngs." I want a number of 
pointed and interesting incidents of the nature of these in this book, on 
the same subjects, and on others of revival interest, and would prefer 
those with which you are personally acquainted. They should not, 
unless of unusual interest, contain more than four hundred words. If 
you will send such, that we can use in either the Revivalist or the new 
book, we will mail it to you, when completed, for one-half of the retail 
price, plus postage. In this way you will help me in this blessed gospel 
work, and I will help you to the book, and also to preach with your pen 
after your voice on dearth is hushed. Please send the incidents to me at 
Albion, Mich, 

Yours in Jesus' perfect love, 

M. W. Knapp. 



THE BOY PREACHER; 

OR, 

LIFE AND LABORS OF REV. THOMAS HARRISON. 

BY E. DAVIES. 

This book is one of the most inspiring revival tonics of 

•which -we kno^w. 
No -worker's library is complete -without it. 
It does not gro"w old. 
The extracts from it in the preceding pages give an idea 

of its attractiveness. 
Sent post-paid for $1.00. . 

THE REVIVALIST PUBLISHING CO., 

ALBION, MICH. 



OUT OF EGYPT INTO CAMiN; 

Or, LESSONS IN SPIRITUAL GEOGRAPHY. 

By REV. MARTIN WELLS KNAPP, 

Author of * Christ Crowned Within." 
PBI€i:, 80 CENTS. :•: :-: TO 9IINISTEBS, 60 CENTS. 

OONTKNXS. 

Illustrative Map: In Egypt, or Spiritual Bondage — The Red Sea, 
or Spiritual Deliverance — The Sinai Wilderness, or Spiritual 
Twilight — Kadesh Barnea, or the Believers' Waterloo — Desert 
Wilderness, or "Wretched Religion" — Entering Canaan—" 
Canaan, or Spiritual Sunshine — Out of Canaan into Babylon — 
Back fronn Babylon — Out of Canaan into Heaven — Canaan: 
Contrasts and Inquiries — The Author's Experience. 



KXXRACXS PRODI NPOXICBS. 

—The book begins with a map, representing, by a beautiful object lesson, 
the whole subject. Egypt and Babylon are black, the Red Sea is red, the 
wilderness is slate color, Canaan is white, etc., etc. The way is traced in 
white for the direct march, in black for the wanderings. It is a strikingly 
suggestive map. The book contains fourteen chapters, and traces minutely 
the correspondencies between the movements and experiences of the 
Israelites and the believer. Egypt represents the kingdom of darkness; 
the Red Sea is conversion. Between the Red Sea and Kadesh Barnea, the 
period from conversion to the point of receiving entire sanctification, Kadesh 
Barnea is defeat. The wilderness represents backsliding. Jordan is enter- 
ing the land of Canaan. Canaan is union with Christ ; Babylon is the fallen 
state ; i. e. fallen from spiritual Canaan. We do not hesitate to pronounce 
this book well adapted to the instruction of the people in Divine things. It 
can not help being \x8QfVi\.— Christian Witness and Advocate of Bible Holiness. 

—Its method of presentation is original. It is well written, and worthy 
of extensive circulation.— C/irisiian Standard and Home Journal. 

—The plan strikes me as original, the ideas Scriptural, the language 
pungent and yet sweet, the comparisons apt and numerous, while the whole 
is pervaded by an earnest evangelism. Blessings on the book and its 
devoted writer!— Rev. J. W. Rawlinson. 

—If any one has made careful study of the great spiritual truths so aptly 
Illustrated by the history of Israel in Egypt and delivery therefrom, that 
man is our Brother Knapp. The Advocate contained several articles from 
his pen upon this subject, and we are pleased to see these and others 
elaborated and otherwise adapted to the permanent page. The spiritual 
tone of the volume is high, the literary work creditable, the illustrative 
matter appropriate to Its purpose, and the mechanical execution in accord- 
ance witn the well-known reputation of the Cincinnati h-OMB^.— Michigan 
Christian Advocate. 

—The author's style abounds In illustrations of the thought he wishes 
to stress, which are apt, and, at times, striking.- TTesiej/an Christian 
Advocate. 

—You have furnished, by God's help, two valuable books. . . . They 
can't help doing good.— Rev. Thomas C.^ Moots. 

—The great truths of Christian experience are interestingly presented in 
this book.— ©wide to Holiness. 



OUT OF EGYPT INTO CANAAN.— Continued. 



—His unique "Map" will be examined with interest. . . . That 
he has apprehended truly and made a book which will be a blessing to 
many, there can be no doubt. Glowing, as it does, with holy fire, it mani- 
fests his eminent fitness for evangelistic work to which he has consecrated 
himself. The printer and book-binder have made the book attractive to 
the eye.— TAe Baltimore Methodist. 

—In the wonderful light of this work, one will take deepest pleasure in 
reading the story of the exode again, and, we are sure, will see a beauty 
and significance in it never before discovered. He will be astonished, also, 
to see now easily every outward step and act admits of inward and spiritual 
application, and while he will pity the Israelites that they wandered so 
long before reaching Canaan, he will surelv regret that with the bright 
companionship of Mr. Knapp, the author, the journey for himself had not 
been longer.— ^eraJd of Gospel Liberty. 

—It is an able, clear, and forcible statement of the higher-life doctrine 
under the plan of a journey, the roads of which are clearly and distinctly 
marked. . . . We most heartily commend it to our readers.— Cteniraf 
Methodist. 

—Crowded full of choice instruction and counsel. . . . We can not too 
highly commend the design of the work, or the manner in which the 
design is executed.— Wesley an Methodist. 

—It hits a real want in the holiness literature not otherwise filled.— 
Kev. Isaih Beid. 

—Volume contains much of instruction and encouragement to all who 
will live godly.— Western Christian Advocate. 

—It is written in a pleasing style.— The Free Methodist. 

—A Gband New Book.— It more fully deals with the subject indicated 
by the title than any book yet published. It is direct, pointed, going right 
at the matter in hand, so briefiy and clearly, that it is like a newTnspiration 
to read it.— The Highway. 

—If I ever write an article on " Books that have helped me," I am sure 
that next to the Bible I must place your "Out of Egypt."— Key. T. H. 

MUBLIN. 

—A book well worth reading. The author is ... a successful evangel- 
ist who has a warm heart, a vivid imagination, and who withal possesses a 
goodly share of common sense.— The Methodist Young People. 

—It bristles with practical points that can not fail to be wholesome to 
Christians. It is written in a very simple style, easily understood, free 
from unnecessary verbiage, and eminently suited for the use of the laity. 
We trust many of our readers will procure the book and read It.— 
Evangelical Messenger. 

♦•» 

-* TRACTS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.*- 

EACH. DOZ 

FIRE FROm AROTF 5c 50c„ 

HOW I CAME TO RE AN ETANeEUST 3c. 30c. 

THE SIOREli Cli ASS • liEADER Ic 8c. 

"HOLINESS A HORRY** Ic 8c. 

FITE DOIiliARS OIVEN AlFAY. For the uncoil- 

Tcrted Ic 8c. 

AN ECHO FROm THE RORRER liAND. For tlie 

anconTerted Ic 5c. 

THIS I.IFE ANR THE lilFE TO COHE. RlaKram. 

For the unconTerted jjO, 10c. 

THE RITHER OF DEATH. A Chart showinir how 

men are loat. For the unconTerted Ae, ..15c 

THE TWO RAIIiROABS (Chart) 6c. 

THE REVIVALIST PUBLISMNG CO., ALBION, MICH. 



Ghrist Growmd Withih. 

i2mo. 199 pp. Price, 70 Cents. 
3V ]^KY. IV^^^^Tl]^ WeUIiS ^^^PP. 



Christ Crowned Within. — The Soul's Desire. — The Object of 
Man's Creation. — Promised. — The Object of his Enthrone- 
ment. — The Great Need of the Church. — Results of his 
Enthronement. — Purity. — A Divine Fullness. — Perfect Love. 
—Holiness. — Growth and Fruit. — Power and Prosperity.— 
A Stable Experience and Spiritual Enlightenment. — Assur- 
ance and Humility. — Peace, Joy, and Divine Guidance. — 
False Fear Banished.— Religion Made Easy. — Heaven 
on Earth. — Heaven Above. — When and How Attained. — 
How Retained. 

COmmE^DATlOHS. 

Tt will doubtless be useful in stimulating the reader to a higher life.— 
Northwestern Advocate. 

A very attractive book. — Michigan Advocate, 

The method is original, the style is attractive, and the spirit most delight- 
ful,— C/imttan Witness. 

I shall prize it among my treasures. —Rev. C. A. Jacokes. 

It is clear, Scriptural, and warm with the pulsations of Divine life.— Rev. 
A^. Taylor. 

The evangelistic fire of the author glows on every page.— Rev. F. L. McCoy. 

It is one of the best books ever printed. It is worth its weight in gold.— 
'•'he Word and Way. 

I like your book much. It avoids all machinexv and d<^ma, and is a 
clear, simple, beautiful, Scriptural handling of your oieme, " Christ Crowned 
M'ithin."— Rev. T. H. Jacokes. 

I think in the whole realm of literature on the higher life which I hare 
had the pleasure of reading, this is the cream.- Rev. C. H. Swbait. 



COMMENDATIONS-Continued. 



My soul feasted while reading "Christ Crowned Within." Doubtless the 
tfolj Spirit will use the book to lead many into the blissful realm where Jesus 
j,*igns without a rival; where all the heart forces are united in the willing 
service of the King of kings.— Abbie Mills, author of "Quiet Hallelujahs," 
Rockford, III. 

The book is not written in any controversial spirit, but sets forth in a sim- 
ple and yet most eflFective manner our high calling of God in Christ Jesus, 
uappy are all they who live in the sunshine of the divine presence.— i^re« 
Baptist, Minneapolis, Minn. 

The book is full of good things.— Rev. G. D. Watson. 

" Christ Crowned Within" is the title of a most interesting and useful book 
now on our table. The type is clear, the chapters short and Scriptural, exegesis 
clear, striking, and in perfect harmony with inspired truth. The book deser\'es 
a wide circulation, and will be a benediction to all who read it. We heartily 
commend it to the ^\x\)\xc.— Methodist Standard. 

We must add our testimony. This is no ordinary book these excellent people 
are praising so. We have the delightful book kindly sent us by the publishers, 
and it is a mine of soul-wealttt to us, a garden of spices, a breeze from heaven. 
Wp- ate not extravagant in our description. Read tne book yourself.— Ifubftard 
Times, Hubbard, Iowa. 

I have read ' Christ Crowned Within " Avith pleasure and profit. I am in full 
sympathy with it, teaching. It will be helpful to any Christian seeking the 
way of holiness and inspiring to the life consecrated to God." — Rev. John 
McEldowney. 

r can heartily commend it for its originality, simplicity, and sweetness. 
" Christ CroAvned Within ! " I am conscious that he is so crowned to-day.— Rev. 
Edgar Levy. 

"■Christ CroAvned Within" is a useful book to the devout heart. It is a 
treasury of the burning thoughts of those who have lived nearest the Master 
in this world.— Chaplain McCabe. 

BeeK? m^ ¥]^^CTS BY JPPE ^^JIB nUW^^- 

Each. Dozen. 

ftEvivAL Tornadoes, $1 00 $i 20 

Christ Crowned Within, 75 cts. 5 40 

Fire From Above, 5 cts. 50 cts. 

How I Came to be an Evangelist, 3 cts. 30 cts. 

The Model Class Leader, 1 ct. 8 cts. 

♦♦Holiness a Hobby," 1 ct. 8 cts. 

Five Dollars Given Away. For the unconverted, 1 ct. 8 cts. 

An Echo from the Border Land. For the unconverted, 1 ct. 5 cts. 

This Life and the Life to Come. Diagram. For the 

unconverted 2 cts. 5 cts. 

The River of Death. A Chart showing how men are lost. 

For the unconverted 2 cts. 5 cts. 

The Two Railroads. Chart, 2 cts. 6 cts 

Letter Envelopes with Signet and Texts, per 25 15 cts. 

The Revivalist, a monthly, devoted solely to the promo- 
tion of Scriptural Revivals 30 cts. 

Address all orders to 

THE REVIVALIST PUBLISHING CO., 

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Reuiual Torpadoes: 



OR, 



LIFE AND LABORS OF 

Evangelist J. H. Weber, 



The Converted Roman Catholic. 



Bh HflHTIN WELLS KMflPF. 

Editor of " The Revivalist,'' atid author of " Christ Crowned Within" and 
" Out of Egypt Into Canaan.'' 



This book will describe a number of the cyclones of Revival 
power that have attended the ministrations of this wonderful 
Evangelist, and relate many incidents illustrating his peculiarities 
and character. It will also contain: 

A Fine Steel Engraving of Mr. Weber; 

His Experience, as Related in his Meetings; 
His Sermon on " Sanctification," that has been blessed to so many ; 

A Iso, much more Revival matter that will be of fascinating inter- 
est to Ministers, Evangelists, Band-workers, and all who believe 
m real Revivals, and seek to know the secret of their success. 

NEATLY BOUND IN CLOTH, . . . $1 OO 

TO MINISTERS, 75 

THREE COPIES 2 OO 

Sent post-paid on receipt of price. 

Address JHE REVIV/iLIST PUBLISHING CO.. ALBION, MICH 



THE REVIVALIST. 

A monthly paper devoted to the maintenance of a Revival Spirit 
and the advancement of Revival Work. Edited and published by 

REV. MARTIN WELLS KNAPP. 



/ts Motto : Salvation, Present and Full, Free and for All. 



FACTS IN ITS FAVOR. 

1. It makes a specialty of the most important and gr^andest theme 
m the universe - Revivals. 

2. It is a foe to sham revivals, and advocates only that kind of revival work 
which will stand the test of the Word, Life, Death, Judgment, and Eternity. 

3. It holds persistently that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is an 
indispensable qualification to successful revival work. 

4. It is the child of the Holy Spirit and an intense desire to glorify God. 

5* Any profit that may come from its publication will be devoted 
to God's work. 

6. One page is prepared especially for the unconverted, which makes the paper 
of great value to scatter among them. 

7. It has a wide field before it, as there are only very few papers 
devoted solely to tliis theme. 

8. It is condensed, " much in a little." It aims to eliminate from its columns 
all dross that would simply add to its size without increasing its value, and to pre- 
sent only the unalloyed gold of pure Revival Truth. 

- 9. It commends itself especially to busy workers. Every moment 
to such is more precious than diamonds, and they feel that they can 
not take time to hunt up revival arrows that are buried in columns 
of miscellaneous matter. The Revivalist presents them in a quiver, 
where they can be caught at a glance. 

10. It is cheap. Only 30 cents per year. So cheap that it can be taken without 
conflicting with the claims of any other paper, and can be sown broadcast among the 
poor and the unconverted. 

11. It is dedicated to God, and for all the good it has done or ever 
may do, He shall have all the glory. 

INDORSEMENT. 

The following from The Word and the Way, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.,one 
of the brightest and best monthlies in the world, is a sample of the kindly way the 
REVIVALIST is being mentioned by many. Especial attention is called to the. 
words that we have emphasized,— 

" The first number of ' THE REVIVALIST ' has been received at this office. 
We are very much pleased with the paper, and we think it should be read by 
Christians everywhere. The publisher of this paper is the Rev. M. \\\ Knapp, 
Albion, Mich., which is a sufficient guarantee that its pages will be filled with such 
matter as true Christians are always glad to read. Other papers are published 
through the land that take up special lines of work; but this is the nrst ever 
know^n to us w^hose special line of w^ork w^ill be to promote revivals of 
religion. We most heartily commend this evangelist and his publication, ' 'i'HE 
REVIVALIST,' to the Christian public." 

It is believed that this paper is to be used of God in winning many souls 
to Christ. Would you like a share in the work and the reward? You can 
have it, — 

1. By praying for its success. 

2. By sending at once your subscription. 

3. By getting a list of subscribers for it. 

4. By lending it after you have read it, and by giving subscriptions 
to the poor and the unconverted. 



SAMPLES WITH SPECIAL OFFERS FREE. 

Your co-operation in this work is invited. "The King's business re- 
quires haste." Address 

TEB EEVIVALIST PUBLISHINQ CO., Albion, Uich. 



A MINE OF GOLD. 

•^ ^^ "^ "^ -p* "^ -^ -^ "p-" •'[^ "f^i -^ -^ ^^y^ ittn; pt^c; i^Ts: PTC ptt" 



£acA 0A7e of the Books in the following list is a Spiritua) 
Nugget, worth more than its weight in Gold: 

Forty l^itnesses. By Oliver Garrison, $1 00 

Wfe of Charles G. Kitiuey, . . * 50 

l^ectures to Professed diristlans. By Finney, ... 1 60 

Revival l^ectures. By Finney, 1 75 

Biosrraptiy of Bishop Hamllne. 471 pages, 1 50 

l^hlte Robes. By G. D. Watson, D. D., 50 

Coals of Fire. By G. D. Watson, D. D., 50 

The Christian's Secret of a Happy L,ife. By Mrs. 

H. W. Smith 75 

Aggressive Christianity. By Mrs. Booth, 50 

Godliness. By Mrs. Booth, 50 

Popular Christianity, 75 

l^ove Hnthroned. By Rev. D. Steele, D. D., 1 25 

Full Salvation. By Rev. B. S. Taylor, 50 

A Dollar Cruden*s Concordance. (Postage, 16c.) . . 1 00 

Perfect l^3ve. By J. A. Wood, 1 00 

**Xhe Boy Preacher »» — Xhomas Harrison, .... 1 00 

Lrlfe of Frances Ridley Havergal, 1 25 

Poems of Frances Ridley Havergal. Complete in 

two volumes, 3 00 

Total $18 75 

A FULL SET will be sent to any address, post-paid, for $17.00. 



Remittance with order. Twenty per cent off from retail 
price to ministers. Postage paid on each book, except " Cruden," 
when the full retail price is paid. 

Address J^HE REVIVALIST PUBLISH I NO CO.. ALBION. MICH. 



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